Darkness Within
by XxMissElxX
Summary: Aria Bradley, little sister to Blake and Hunter Bradley, is strong, beautiful, and mysterious. But what happens when she and her brothers join forces with the Wind Rangers? Will she find love and happiness? Or will she give in to the Darkness? OCxDB, minor THxBB. No hate please, first fanfic ever. Review appreciated
1. Prolouge

_(A/N: This is my first fanfic EVER! Inspiration from **thunderyoshi.** please **NO HATE** , reviews/critiques welcome. I DO NOT OWN POWER RANGERS! ONLY ARIA BRADLEY!)_

Darkness Within

By: XxMissElxX

 **Prologue**

 **-Woods of Reefside-**

A lone figure was sitting in front of what appeared to be a normal boulder with her black and purple dirt bike deep within the woods of Reefside, California. Her grey-green eyes were closed, long, curly jet-black hair gently blowing in the light breeze. She seemed as if she was waiting for someone as one hand subconsciously clasped onto her silver chained necklace. Suddenly, the sound of two bike engines roared making her jolt in surprise.

"Took you two long enough!" she said. The riders of the two bikes, one in navy the other in crimson, took their helmets off.

"Calm down Aria, we're not late" said Crimson as he rolled his eyes

"Can we please just go in now?" Aria said in response. The three ripped off their civilian clothes and were left in their thunder ninja uniforms; the two guys had navy and crimson on their uniforms whereas Aria's was all black. They walked through the boulder with ease and were now at the entrance of the Thunder Ninja Academy. They were immediately greeted by Sensei Omino.

"Aria, Blake, Hunter," he greeted sternly, "I was wondering when you three would get here" the three bowed, Aria was the first to respond.

"Sorry Sensei, my brothers and I lost track of time" she felt bad for lying but she didn't want to throw her two older brothers under the bus. After receiving a lecture by their sensei about time management and punctuality, the three siblings went off to train.

The Bradley siblings didn't train with the other students, just with each other, after the untimely death of their adopted parents the three stuck together building their walls so high for anyone to climb over; especially Aria. At 17 she is the youngest of the three but also the strongest, the power she possesses is incredible. 18 year old Blake was very close to Aria, but the bond he shared with 19 year old Hunter was unbreakable. The three always had each other's back and back at the academy you would never see one Bradley without the other two.

While the two younger Bradley's were sparring Hunter looked up to the sky and saw a giant black cloud.

"Hey guys look!" he shouted, as the two looked a giant blast was heard at the temple of their school, they were being attacked. Running down, dodging explosions as they did, they saw Sensei Omino running towards them, he seemed to be injured. Before they could even say anything their sensei forced an open box in their hands, holding the three thunder ranger morphers. Their eyes widened, Sensei Omino told them they would know what to do when the time came "GO!" he yelled, the three took off running, putting on their morphers in the process; but they weren't fast enough they had been caught in bubble by the evil space ninja Lothor.

 **-Lothor's Ship-**

When they got to his ship a black alien with no face and two swords coming out of their shoulders came up to the three and released them they immediately started to fight the alien, Blake and Hunter using hand-to-hand combat and Aria using her strong control over lightning, but were forced to surrender, they were still mentally and physically exhausted from the attack on their school. The Bradleys were brought into what appeared to be the throne room where they were greeted by Lothor,

"Well hello thunder rangers!" a fake smile plastered on his face.

"What do you want with us?" asked Hunter

"Oh right to the point then!" Lothor exclaimed, "I like you. Anyway, I want your help."

It was Aria's turn to speak up "Why the fuck would we help you? You just blew up our home!" a snarl coming upon her tan face.

"My, what language from a young lady like yourself," with that Blake and Hunter both inched closer to their sister.

"I need your help getting revenge on Sensei Watanabe of the Wind Academy down in Blue Bay Harbor"

"Um, why?" Blake said.

"Because," Lothor continued, getting a little annoyed "it will help us both out"

"Why would destroying an innocent man help us?" Aria questioned.

With a sick grin coming onto his face Lothor said "Oh I assure you he isn't an innocent man," knowing just where to hit them he said "did you ever know what really happened to your parents?" the three siblings didn't know what to say. Sensei Watanabe killed them?

"How do you know?" Aria demanded her eyes slowly darkening to black as her emotions took a hold of her. Blake grabbed her hand to try and calm her down.

"I saw the whole thing! And I can help you get revenge on the person who orphaned you again" Lothor said, the three all looked at each other and came to a silent agreement, their parents would be avenged no matter what

Finally Hunter looked to Lothor, "We're in".


	2. Chapter 1

_(Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN POWER RANGERS! i only own Aria Bradley and her entire story arc)_

 **Chapter 1: Beauty at the Beach**

 **-Beach-**

The Bradley's were already planning on their revenge, it had been two weeks since the Wind Rangers first showed up and they were studying their enemy's fights. Right now they were watching the bimbos, Marah and Kapri, trying to lure Tori Hanson, blue ranger, into a fake photo-shoot.

"This is getting boring" Aria complained under her ranger suit; it was a black top and skirt with dark grey spandex underneath. She had gold shoulder, knee, and wrist guards as well. On her chest was the symbol of a scarab in gold and her helmet had two small, thin antennae.

"Chill, we have to do this right" Hunter said in his crimson suit

"With you bro" replied Blake under his navy helmet.

With that they all streaked away waiting for another battle to occur between the rangers and Lothor's latest goon. They were all a little on edge as of late, they couldn't go anywhere without their ranger suits on or else it would ruin their plans; this included the race track down in Blue Bay. Motocross was their way of being normal teens and always helped the Bradley siblings relax so it's understandable that they all have been a bit tense the past three weeks. Aria didn't even have time to play her guitar either, if she wasn't racing, she was playing her guitar; so the fact she couldn't play as much also pissed her off.

Finally, Copybot had intercepted the Winds and were engaged in battle, the Thunders looked on from the top of a building and studying their opponents. They continued observing until the Winds formed their megazord and destroyed Copybot for good. "Finally, his rhymes were getting annoying" Aria muttered then they went back to Lothor's ship where they found Lothor arguing with his two nieces.

 **-Lothor's Ship-**

"Lucky for you we're ready to go" Aria said as the two airheads left. "All the pieces are in place" Hunter added. Finally, Blake finished with "Let the games begin". "Excellent!" Lothor said with an evil laugh. 'Things are gonna get ugly for those posers' Aria thought to herself. That night, they rented a room at a small motel and set everything up; Aria was setting up her computer while her brothers were fixing the bikes. It was Aria's job to hack into the Winds base and gain information, she was like the brains of this whole operation after all she was the best with computers, Hunter was kinda like their leader and Blake was the best fighter between the three, much to Aria and Hunter's discontent. The three of them would prove to be challenge for the Wind Ninjas.


	3. Chapter 2

_(DISCLAIMER: I don not own PRNS, Aria is mine though!)_

 **Chapter 2: Looming Thunder**

 **-Motocross Track-**

The Bradley's pulled up to the top of a small hill on their bikes watching the racers beneath them when Aria spotted their target in yellow, "Got him, number 27"

"You ready?" Hunter said she could tell her brother was grinning under his crimson helmet.

"Let's do it!" Blake replied. They took off down the hill right behind yellow. Soon enough they managed to get right on top of him, only to get ahead at the last jump. The three of them crossed the finish line together as yellow pulled off towards a silver van and a red-headed girl.

"Man you ever seen those guys before?" Dustin, previously mentioned as Yellow, asked his boss/friend Kelly.

"They ride like factory pros I would've remembered." She responded.

"I'm just glad they don't race 125s".

The Bradleys pulled up next to Blake's pick up and waited, removing their helmets and gloves. As Aria let her long hair down from her helmet Dustin couldn't help but stare, sure girls rode on the track before, but none looked like her. He decided to go up to them.

"Hey how's it going?" he asked.

"Track's a little soggy" Hunter complained as all three of them got off their bikes to face Dustin.

"Well it didn't seem to slow you guys down." This was when Aria finally got a good look at this guy, she knew she wasn't supposed to think this way, but 'Damn he's cute-stop, you have to _FOCUS_!' she thought to herself.

"Hey I'm Blake,"

"Nice to meet you" Dustin responded

"This is my brother Hunter and our sister Aria"

"Hey" was all Hunter said while Aria said a quick "Hi"

"Wh - what you guys are brothers and sister?" Dustin asked confused, his voice cracking slightly.

"We're adopted" Hunter replied with slight annoyance, Aria lightly nudged his shoulder with her elbow.

"Oh right oh cool" said Dustin "well, my name's Dustin. I-I've never you out here before, where's the home track?"

Blake started to say "Uh, we come down from-" but was cut off by Hunter "You wouldn't have heard of it."

Aria stepped in and said "Easy there dude, and he wonders why he doesn't have any friends" while flashing him a quick smile.

'May as well act like I'm interested' She continued, "Hey, you were pretty fast out there before."

With a smile and a glance back to the track he Dustin said "Yeah right man, I must've given up a couple of seconds a lap to you guys."

"You get to much air in your jumps. Slows you down" Hunter advised, Blake shrugged his shoulders and agreed with his brother Aria couldn't help but agree with them to. "Sorry dude he's right, dark and brooding, but right."

Blake stepped in again after an awkward pause and said "Listen, uh what are you doing now? Wanna follow us?" as much as Aria wanted him to say yes, she knew what they needed to do today.

"Um, actually man can I take a rain check? I gotta be somewhere."

"Yeah, no worries," Hunter said as he tapped Dustin's shoulder, "next time." She knew her brother meant that as a bit of a threat and rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah cool, next time" Dustin said as a goodbye to the younger Bradleys

"Yeah, later" Blake said while Aria just gave a lazy salute and walked back to the truck. When Dustin left the Bradleys soon followed him into the woods morphed and ready to go.

 **-Woods-**

They watched from the trees as the Winds rode around on their new toys: the Tsunami Cycles. "I think we've seen enough" Hunter said, but Aria had an idea, "Wait, I think I have an idea." They moved to a spot closer to the Winds and a guy in green, there they saw Green give a disk to Dustin. Aria smirked behind her helmet "Perfect, no we can go" and they streaked off.

"What are you planning?" asked Hunter

"How much do you wanna bet that that disk has the Tsunami Cycle's programming on there?" Blake and Hunter turned and smirked at each other before turning to their little sister.

"You're a fuckin' genius" said Blake

Aria grinned at them "What would you do without me?"

 **-Motocross Track-**

Later on the three of them, along with Dustin, were at the track trying to get closer to him and gain his trust. Aria became a lot closer with the yellow wind ninja than Hunter would've liked. Thankfully, there was an earthquake that occurred; the three knew it was Lothor's latest alien but just acted as if it were real. They weren't at all surprised when Dustin ran off, unfortunately taking his backpack and disk with him. Afterwards, Hunter pulled Aria aside to talk to her about Dustin.

"Hey, don't forget, he's the enemy here!"

Aria sent her own glare and replied, "Yeah I know that. I'm just trying to get closer to him, like the plan says"

"Don't get too close" Hunter finished as he walked away. Aria was about to go off on him, but decided that he was right. 'We have a job to do; I'm not letting anything get in my way'

 **-Storm Chargers-**

A couple of hours later the three Bradleys met with Dustin at Storm Chargers. They were going to be introduced to the Winds today, of course they already knew who they were but they had to play their part. The three turned around to find the Winds. For once the Bradleys were wearing civilian clothes other than their race gear; Blake was wearing dark blue jeans and a navy tee-shirt and jacket, Hunter was also wearing dark jeans but a dark red shirt and black windbreaker, and finally Aria was in a pair of black shorts, a grey tank top under her favorite over-sized black and grey flannel and a pair of beat up black converse, her necklace tucked safely in her shirt.

Dustin began introductions "Hey guys you finally get to meet! Shane, Tori, Hunter Blake, and Aria." He said as he pointed to each of them, they all shook hands.

"Hey, Dustin's told us all about you guys" Hunter said.

"But not everything" Blake finished looking Tori up and down causing her to look down and smile. Aria suppressed a laugh as Hunter just raised an eyebrow at his little brother.

Shane spoke up, "Hey, Dustin, gotta minute?" with that they continued a private conversation. Tori and the Bradleys continued their own conversation when Shane and Dustin dragged her away and out the door.

When they left Blake turned to his siblings (well, mainly Hunter) and grinned, "Man that Tori is fine!"

"Yeah," Hunter agreed "But why would a girl like her hang out with a doof like that?"

"Maybe she likes charity work" they laughed and failed to notice Shane listening to them.

When he left Aria spoke up, "So you two can talk to Tori, but I can't speak to Dustin?" crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at the two guys. "Calm down Ri, unlike you I won't get too attached" said Blake.

She just rolled her eyes at her older brother "Knowing you, you will" she then turned to walk out the door.

 **-Motocross Track-**

Later that day they were at the track again with Dustin who had just finished his last lap, "Cleared that lap in no time!" he said with pride.

"Keep that up and you may be ready for the 250s" Aria praised while patting her own bike. "Yeah remember this moment" Blake agreed.

"You know, it's been really cool hanging with you guys," Dustin said as he put his backpack down. Aria had a small grin on her face. The plan was going flawlessly. "It's hard to find dudes who actually get what you're into you know?"

"Heard that" replied Hunter.

All of a sudden the ground began to shake, causing Dustin to fall over. As the guys were helping him up Dustin's morpher beeped, causing him to panic. As the guys tried to distract him Aria stood in front his bag on the ground, 'He's hella cute, but definitely not the brightest' she thought. Finally he took off; leaving his bag behind, Aria picked it up with a smirk and pulled the disk out for her brothers to see. "I told you so."

When they got home, Aria immediately got to work. Her brothers found three old bikes and were tuning them up while she tried to find a way to hack into the ranger' base. "You two go check on the Winds, I'm gonna stay here and work on this." With that they left, leaving her to focus on the disk.


	4. Chapter 3

_(DISCLAIMER: PRNS is not mine, its Saban's. only Aria Bradley and her story arc is mine.)_

 **Chapter 3:** **Thunder Strangers part I**

Aria barely slept that night for she was too focused on getting access to the Winds' base. After passing out for a couple of hours she returned to work when she finally got pass the firewall. "I'M IN!" she yelled in excitement, causing her brothers to rush in.

"What did you do?" Blake asked

"Yeah, I thought all you needed was the disk for the bikes?" Hunter added.

"Do you want the Winds to know what we're doing? And don't worry the bikes will be done soon" Aria replied with an eye roll. After a few more hours the bikes were finished and standing before them were three bikes in crimson, navy, and black.

"Ri, have we ever told you you're the best?" Hunter said, clearly impressed.

"You're welcome bro" she said with a sly smirk. "Ok, let's go."

 **-Storm Chargers-**

First they went to Storm Chargers to sign up for Kelly's team. She had asked them a few days ago to race for her and they gladly accepted.

"Hey thanks for this Kels" Aria said sincerely

"Yeah, no problems just have your parents sign these-"

"Oh we don't live with our parents" Hunter interrupted

"Oh, I'm sorry I-"

"Hey don't mention it, we'll catch you later" Blake reassured. They signed the papers and left.

 **-Lothor's Ship-**

They morphed and reached Lothor's ship, "The Wind Rangers greatest hits. Are all my favorites on here?" the masked space ninja asked.

"If you mean the Tsunami Cycle Serenade, then yes" Blake said

"I wonder if they know it was released a little early" Aria added with an evil grin under her helmet.

"Oh how I wish to have seen that little rodents face" Lothor sneered.

"We have unfinished business" was all Hunter responded with.

"Relax, evil plans are like fine wine, you must let them sit awhile before uncorking them" Lothor reassured with a smile

"They also go bad if you wait too long" Aria reminded.

"She's right I read that! It's something about the cork and the sediment" Marah interrupted, prompting another fight between her and her sister.

Annoyed Aria shot a blast of lightning at them "Shut up and let the big kids talk" she told them. The two broke apart sending glares to the black thunder ranger.

Just then Zurgane, Lothor's general cam in babbling on about some plan before Lothor sent him on vacation. The Bradleys just laughed at the alien general's embarrassment. "We're ready" Hunter said.

 **-Quarry-**

They streaked to the quarry and morphed, waiting for the other rangers to come to them.

"THUNDER STORM! RANGER FORM! POWER OF THUNDER!"

Hunter ended with his arms crossed, Blake had his arms out at his sides, and Aria had one hand in a fist close to her chest the other open and relaxed in front of her.

They waited at the top of a cliff while they waited for the Winds. "You ready?" Aria asked

"Let's do it!" Blake responded

"Goodbye rangers!" Hunter finished. All three sent a blast of black, navy, and crimson lightning and jumped down, backs facing the Winds.

"Who are you?" Shane demanded. "What's with the attitude?" asked Tori, "Uh, hello? Anybody in there?" Shane asked sarcastically.

"Obviously you didn't get the memo." Aria said.

"Old rangers out, new rangers in" Blake finished.

"What you expect us to fight you?" shouted Dustin. With a growl from Hunter, the three of them streaked forward and attacked with their thunder staffs.

"Doesn't seem like they wanna talk" Shane groaned, "I vote for kicking their wannabe butts." said Tori 'Just try to' Aria thought, "I hear ya!" Dustin agreed. All three primary coloured rangers struggling to get up. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to play nice?" Shane asked as jumped up to walk on air. "We don't do nice" Hunter answered as Blake jumped in the air to hit Shane with multiple sidekicks. "That was brutal!" Shane yelled out.

Meanwhile Dustin and Tori ran and attacked Aria and Hunter, or at least tried to. The eldest and youngest Bradley just kept dodging and blocking their attacks. When Shane noticed his friends were in trouble he went to help, "Guys!" he ran towards Hunter, "Hang on!"

"What for?" Aria responded pulling out her thunder staff.

"Thunder staff! Mega power!"

"What the hell?!" Shane yelled Aria ran towards the Winds striking all of them in the chest with one blow. Blake pulled his own thunder staff out, as well as Hunter. The three began to walk towards the fallen rangers.

"They have sticks!" Shane cried out. 'Really?! I thought Dustin was the airhead?' Aria said to herself.

"Really big sticks!" Tori agreed

"Anybody got a suggestion?" asked Dustin. The Thunders stopped in front of them

"You want an idea? How about give up?" said Hunter.

"Trust us, it will be much less painful that way" Blake agreed "Ready?"

"Yeah" Aria and Hunter replied. And they streaked off.

"Where'd they go?" questioned Shane as he looked around. "Really far away…if we're lucky…" Dustin said, still hurting from their battle.

 **-Lothor's Ship-**

After their first battle with the Winds, the three Bradleys went back to Lothor's ship.

"I would've given anything to see the look on those rangers' face!" laughed Hunter

"Oh yeah they were scared alright!" Blake agreed. Just then Zurgane stepped into their way

"Yo Zurgane! What up dog!" greeted Blake; Zurgane just blocked his path.

"You know, if you wanted to dance, at least put on some music" he said sarcastically.

"Why didn't you destroy the rangers when you had the chance?!" the alien demanded.

"Hey!" yelled Aria, stepping in front of him, "It's called need-to-know basis, meaning we know why and we don't have to tell you."

"Oh, but we'll call you if we change our minds, you could hold our bags" Blake laughed.

"Why you little-!" Zurgane attacked but Blake blocked and pushed him away.

"Hey! You ever consider anger management therapy?" Hunter said

"This is getting us nowhere!" Aria said, "Aren't we supposed to be on the same side?"

"For the time being" Zurgane said and stalked off.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

At the same time at Ninja Ops, the three Winds gathered around their Sensei, shouting questions at the guinea pig. "One at a time!" Sensei yelled over the three.

"Sensei, who were those guys?" Shane asked first

"They fight in the style of the Thunder Ninja Academy," Sensei answered "That is all I know for certain."

"I thought Lothor captured all the other ninja schools" Dustin said confused,

"Could he have turned them against us? To fight fire with fire?" Tori added.

"Their fire is from deep within. Even Lothor cannot be driving them to attack with such passion." Their Sensei explained "But be warned rangers, these Thunder rangers are quite powerful, but I sense an even stronger, deadlier force in the black ranger."

Dustin, not really paying attention, said "I don't really care what their problem is. All I know is that those dudes almost smoked us."

"Yeah, but they didn't, and I want to know why" Shane thought aloud.

 **-Quarry-**

The Bradleys then left the ship and went off to fight the Winds again. They sent a blast down and walked up to their opponents, "Recognize these?" Hunter taunted. All three sent a small stream of lightning in their respective colours, revealing their Tsunami Cycles. They heard Cam yell over the Winds' morphers, "Hey those are _my_ Tsunami Cycles!"

"But ours come with a few improvements" Aria countered. "This is so wrong!" Dustin cried out. With that the three mounted their bikes.

"Ready to ride?" Hunter asked his siblings "Ok" Blake responded "Lets show these posers how it's done!" Aria finished. They revved their engines and took off each sending a bolt of lightning to the Winds causing them to fall over a small cliff.

"Ready for another lap?" Hunter yelled out as him and his siblings each jump over the Winds and slashed against them, Shane and Tori managed to dodge some attacks but when Dustin tried to run away he tripped "Ha! He just ate shit!" Hunter mocked. As he turned towards Red and Blue they tried to blast him with their Ninja Swords but they missed every time. "Nice aim losers!" Aria yelled and met up with him and Blake.

"Thunder Engine Blast!" She commanded.

"FIRE!" Her brothers called out.

Their bike sent out multiple streaks of lightning and knocked the Winds to the ground. When they stopped they looked over their shoulders "You smell something burning?" Blake asked, "Hey! Anybody feel like s'mores?" Hunter followed. As they dismounted Aria decided to add salt to the wound, "This is so easy it's almost boring, I thought they'd at least put up a fight."

"Those guys could never compete with the Thunder Ninja Academy, they're so lame" Hunter agreed.

"No doubt, I thought their Sensei taught them better than this" Blake added.

"Time to finish this!" Hunter shouted and held his morpher, Blake and Aria copied him.

"Sky of Wonder…"Hunter started.

"Power of Thunder" the other two finished. Smoke blocked the Winds' views as lightning hit the ground around the Thunders.

"This does not look good" Tori groaned.

"Crimson Insectizord!"

"Navy Beetlezord!"

"Black Scarabzord!" three bug-shaped zords came into view, two on the ground and one flying in the air.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" shouted Tori again in annoyance.

"They have zords!" Dustin cried in disbelief

"This is getting ridiculous!" Shane complained.

"Later days" Blake said as the three ran up beside their respective zords and jumped in. "By the time this is over, we'll be the last Ninja Rangers on the planet. So let's stay focused!" Hunter reminded, "Let's get these losers" Aria agreed. These people work for the man who killed her parents, they had to pay.

They heard Shane call "They want to play rough? We're all about rough! Cam hit it!" The hawk, dolphin, and lion zords came onto the scene.

"NINJA ZORDS! HA!"

"Let's show these posers who's who in the zord zoo!" declared Shane. "Bottom of the ninth boys! Now or never!" Tori reminded, "I'm thinking...NOW!" Dustin yelled.

"Here they come, defense formation," Hunter told the two "ENGAGE!" The three zords got into position.

"Okay, let's bring the heat people!" Dustin said "Copy that, it's our turn!" Shane said "Right!" Tori agreed.

"Hawkzord, Flame Attack!" the red hawk was covered in flames and fired at Hunter, encircling him in flames. But Hunter got pass it easily and burst through a rock and fired upon Shane. Then, Dustin was jumped by Blake and his Beetlezord, who was then blown away by Dustin's tornado blast causing him to flip over multiple times.

Sensing another attack coming, Blake engaged his cloaking device and slipped away just as Dustin's Lionzord stomped its foot down. "What the hell? Where'd he go?" he cried. Just then Blake pulled up behind Tori's Dolphinzord and grabbed her spinning her around multiple times.

At the same time Ari had gone and was keeping the two boys busy; her Scarabzord flying around the hawk and lion. "Don't forget about me boys!"

"WEAPONS ENGAGE!" she commanded and she let loose multiple bolts of black lightning from her zord's antennae to the two causing them to start sparking.

Getting fed up Shane told his teammates "Let's bust the megazord on these punks!"

"FORM THE MEGAZORD NOW!" the Winds shouted.

"Finally! Something from the has-beens!" Hunter jeered.

"Let's turn them into never-weres" said Aria.

"THUNDER MEGAZORD!" Hunter cried as the three bug zords came together. Blake became the legs and chest plate, Hunter became the head and arms, while Aria, who had the smallest zord, became the body.

"THUNDER MEGAZORD! POWER UP!"

"Now the real fun begins" Aria said after cries of disbelief and protests from the Winds.

The two megazords were in a heated battle, so the Winds thought best to call the Serpent Sword, but it didn't leave a mark on their opponent. So they tried another Power Sphere, but Aria managed to steal it from them.

"Oops, was that for you? Oh well" she taunted from her cockpit as she sent it up to Hunter. Her brothers decided to add onto her mocking.

"Interception at the goal line and the Thunders are running it back for a touchdown! Activating Power Sphere now!" Hunter shouted as he placed the coin into a slot. The Thunders struck at the Winds, making their megazord spark and smoke. They continued their assault on the Winds, showing no mercy.

"He's at the 50! The 40! The 30!" Blake and Hunter cheered and all three did their final strike. "Really guys?" Aria quipped 'Meh, boys will be boys'. "Let's finish them!" Aria said her voice had a distorted sound to it; sensing Aria was giving in Blake stepped in "We've disabled their zords, that's good enough. For now" They turned and walked away.

'What the hell?! We had our chance why did he stop us? I'm surprised Hunter hasn't said anything' she thought as they de-morphed and went to the forest by the megazord battle, which coincidentally was next to the track.

To Be Continued….

 _(A/N: REVIEW PLEASE!)_


	5. Chapter 4

( _Disclaimer: PRNS is not mine, only Aria. Should be obvious by now)_

 **Chapter 4: Thunder Strangers part II**

 **-Motocross Track-**

After de-morphing the three were in their racing gear when they saw Kelly. Together they ran over to the edge of the woods, fake worry on their faces. There they saw Tori, Shane and Dustin groaning, coughing, and stumbling out of the woods.

"We were riding when we saw the smoke" Hunter said.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked (mainly to Tori).

"What happened?" Aria asked, trying to sound as scared and worried as possible.

Kelly spoke up, "I was listening in the car on the way over here, they said it was some kind of Alien attack!" panic evident in her voice.

"That sorta thing happen a lot around here?" Hunter questioned.

"You ever wonder why housing was so cheap?" Shane grumbled still hunched over in pain.

Kelly began going off about calling the freakin' army before Tori shot her down, claiming they were all fine. Aria and Blake glanced to Hunter who gave them a small nod.

"Come on, we better go" Shane said as they all went separate ways, the Winds or Kelly not catching the evil grins creeping on the Bradleys' faces.

 **-Beach-**

They all went to the beach where they saw Tori. She was wearing her wet suit around her waist and a light blue tank top. Hunter was in a crimson and black shirt and dark jeans. Blake had a navy shirt, white over shirt, and dark jeans as well. Aria was in a tight black crop top, a pair of low-rise dark grey jeans, and a long white flannel tied around her waist, her curly hair pulled onto one shoulder.

Hunter and Aria hoped Blake wouldn't say anything but lo and behold, "What no hello?" Hunter just looked up in annoyance and Aria did her signature eye roll.

"Sorry, my mind's somewhere else." Tori replied with a smile. Hunter had a stink face with his arms crossed while Aria had her hands in her pockets waiting for the conversation to end.

"Rough day huh?"

"Yeah" they both looked down at the sand. "Thanks again for helping me out there"

"Oh yeah, hey uh don't mention it. Any time" Hunter silently scoffed only for Aria to hear, causing her to fight back laughter.

"I'll keep that in mind"

"Cool"

"I'll catch you later"

"Yeah sure thing!" with that Tori turned and left.

"Wow smooth! You'll have to show me your moves sometime" Hunter teased only to get a punch in the gut.

Aria came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Yeah, totally not attached" and made a whip sound prompting Blake to wrap his arm around her neck and start play- fighting with her. She let out a laugh and they broke apart, running to catch up with their elder brother. 'Frist time in a while she's laughed like that.' Blake thought.

Later on the three had decided to go riding on the beach when they heard screams. "Come on, let's get out of here!" Hunter said they didn't want to get caught by Lothor's latest alien and be exposed. But Blake caught a glimpse of blonde and took off. "BLAKE!" Hunter cried out for him but he wouldn't listen.

They watched helplessly in the shadows as the alien shot at Blake, causing him to collapse. Aria had tears streaming freely down her face, her eyes starting to blacken again. Hunter grabbed his little sister's face in both of his hands and forced her to look at him "Ri, look at me, please control it. Blake is with Tori and as much as I don't like to admit it, she'll take care of him. Please, Ari calm down." She shut her eyes for a couple of seconds before opening them up to reveal her normal grey-green eyes. "Okay, I'm sorry" she said, her brother pulled her in for a big-brotherly hug, "He'll be fine it's okay" he reassured. "Let's go".

 **-Meanwhile at Ninja Ops-**

"Cam I need your help outside!" Tori shouted

"Can't it wait? I've nearly got the morphers back online." Cam groaned

"It's an emergency! My friend he's…hurt"

"And you brought him here?!" he demanded as he shot up from his seat. "You ever heard of a hospital?"

"I know but he was hurt because of me. Please? Come look at him. It was one of Lothor's space freaks, we have to help him!"

"Alright…" he finally agreed as she led him to Blake who had giant tadpole looking things on his chest.

"What are those things?" Tori asked as Cam began removing the…things

"Some kind of cybernetic leech looks like they dehydrate the body until it just shuts down" he explained as he removed more leeches

"Well, did you get them off in time?"

"I think so; this guy must drink a lot of water"

"His name is Blake" she stated

"I don't care what his name is, dad's gonna flip when he finds out you brought him here!"

"Well then maybe he shouldn't find out?" she suggested sweetly

Cam rolled his eyes, "The morphers are on the console inside. Go get them, I'll stay here"

Tori kissed him on the cheek "Thanks cam!" and went through the waterfall

Looking at her Cam says "Men as a species are doomed" not seeing Blake open his eyes and smirk. 'So that's Ninja Ops'

 **-Back at the track-**

Hunter and Aria had just asked if they had seen Blake when they heard a car pull up, they ran up and saw Blake in Tori's van. Hunter went up to the passenger side window when he asked "Hey what happened to you? You alright?"

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later." With that the three walked away. When they reached a quiet spot at the track Aria spoke up, well more like yelled.

"WHAT THE FUCK BLAKE? DO YOU KNOW HOW SCARED WE WERE? I ALMOST LOST IT FOR FUCK'S SAKE…" she continued her little rant with tears coming down her face again. When she was done Blake hugged his little sister and calmed her down with a sincere apology. Afterwards, he told them of what he found.

"At least you found something from all that." Aria stated with a hint of a smile.

After a mutual decision they walked up to Tori who was talking to Dustin.

"Hey guys"

"Hey" the two greeted

"Hey uh we just wanted to say thanks for taking care of our bro" Hunter said

"Anytime" Tori replied

"We owe you one and we always make good on our promises" Aria said to Tori

"Okay good to know"

"We gotta get home. Parents, you know how it is." Blake said causing warning bells to go off in Aria's head. She caught the glance Shane and Dustin gave each other. She didn't even hear what else was said all she heard was herself thinking 'shit shit shit shit shit shit…' they soon left.

 **-Beach-**

They went to the beach again and Aria started ranting again, this time out of frustration.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She began "You basically blew our cover! Shane and Dustin heard us tell Kelly we have no parents and now you just told Tori that we have to get back to them! They'll think something's up now!"

Before either could reply they heard a blast not far from them. They looked around the beach before they found the same monster that hurt Blake.

"Come on, it's payback time." Blake said

"Let's get this son of a bitch" Aria agreed. They took off and saw the toad thing against the rangers.

Now morphed, they sent bolts of lightning down.

"HA! THUNDER STAFFS!" They each called and pointed past the rangers and to the alien. "ATTACK!"

They ran forward past the Winds all three slashing the toad. They continued slashing at him before stabbing his in its gut.

"But I thought we were on the same team!" it cried but they just threw the alien aside. "I guess not! Polytrons!" he fired the leech things from earlier but they used their Thunder Shields to block them all, they landed at the alien's feet and exploded causing him to fall to the ground.

"THUNDER STAFFS! TORNADO STAR!" their staffs changed forms again and they slashed at the toad, causing it to spark.

"Crimson Blaster!"

"Navy Antler"

"Black Daggers"

"THUNDER WEAPONS!"

"You ready!" Hunter asked

"You know it!" the other two said at the same time.

They jumped into action, first Blake grabbed it by the waist with his Navy Antlers and lifted it up while sending electricity through it, he threw it aside and left him for his siblings.

Hunter just shot at it numerous times with his Crimson Blaster causing the toad alien to fall. When it stood back up it was Aria's turn.

She held her two daggers in front of her to form an 'X' and summoned a ball of lightning she sent speeding towards the toad and waited for it to get back up. She then expertly threw her two daggers at it hitting it straight in its chest, shocking him with electricity. Her daggers flew back into her hands and she joined her brothers again.

"Let's put 'em together!" Hunter said

Blake's weapon connected to the front of Hunter's while Aria's were on either side of the blaster, blades facing the front.

"THUNDER BLASTER! READY? FIRE!"

"Done deal" Hunter said as they walked away from the explosion. The Winds immediately started asking questions only get this as a response from Hunter.

"We're even, Wind Rangers."

As the Winds were left to deal with a now giant toad alien, the Thunders went to Ninja Ops and broke in where they saw Cam and his father.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

"How did you get in here?" Cam demanded

"Doesn't matter" Aria responded and started attacking, her brothers not far behind. Cam put up a good fight but it wasn't enough, they over powered him and took the Sensei who at this point shielded himself with an energy field.

"Fights pretty good for a computer nerd" Hunter remarked

"As a computer nerd myself, I take offense to that" Aria reminded

When they heard footsteps they dragged their victims to a hidden corner and waited to make their reveal. When they turned the corner with Cam in the boys grasp and the Sensei hidden from sight the Winds went into their fighting stances.

Shane spoke first "What are you doing here?"

The three de-morphed revealing their identities, the other three straightened surprised that their new friends were really the evil rangers.

"So what do you want?" Dustin asked, still shocked by this revelation "How'd you get in here?"

"Ask her" Hunter answered

"Blake?" she asked, she felt a wave of guilt and betrayal.

"I'm sorry, but we had to find the Ninja Ops. I didn't mean to use you." He replied with honesty.

Dustin still couldn't get over Aria being the black ranger. He was really starting to fall for her and she seemed to be a great friend.

"Ri?" Dustin said

Her heart broke a little seeing him like that, but she had to do this.

"I'm sorry Dustin, but we have to do this" her voice cold and firm, nothing like how it was in their previous conversations.

Tori spoke up again, "If you hurt him I will hunt you down" her own voice cracking.

"Leave him," Hunter said as he and Blake threw Cam down "We have what we want. Good bye rangers and good luck in your future battles" the three threw down a smoke screen and took off with the guinea pig.


	6. Chapter 5

_(DISCLAIMER: It's pretty obvious but PRNS aint mine. only Aria and her arc is)_

 **Chapter 5: Thunder Strangers part III**

 **-Forest-**

They were walking in around in a creepy looking forest, the Winds' Sensei in Hunter's hands.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm not really digging this place" Blake said

"Don't be such a baby" Hunter retorted.

"You should be afraid Thunder Rangers, there are spirits here of the darkest warriors the world has ever known" Sensei informed them

"Quiet!" Aria demanded through gritted teeth, she wanted this to be over, she wanted him to pay.

"Have you not learned that taking revenge on the one who has caused you no harm, makes you as guilty as the one who hurt you to begin with?" Sensei's question made all three stop

No longer able to control herself her anger and pain took over a second. She grabbed the ball out of Hunter's hands and almost lost control.

Her eyes blackening she said "You destroyed our parents. Parents who took us in and gave us a life," her hands started to have a black energy surround them. She continued as she started pushing into the sphere "You took away everything we loved from us! You caused our pain! You deserve everything that's coming"

She almost broke the sphere when Hunter snatched it from her and with a stern voice he said "That's enough Aria. Calm down now". He sent her his best glare and with a few shakes of her head and some deep breaths she was back to normal. "I'm fine, let's keep moving"

'I was right. She has great power within her' Sensei thought

After a while they were close to their destination.

"How much farther?" Blake complained

"Nearly there" Hunter said as he looked around the forest.

Suddenly there was a noise, all three tensing up immediately

"Did you hear that?" Blake asked

"Wish I could say no" Aria replied

Suddenly ghosts started popping out of literally everywhere, surrounding them. After slowly putting Sensei down, they morphed.

"THUNDERSTORM, RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF THUNDER!"

They all started fighting, throwing Sensei between the three of them when they saw the Winds.

"Whoa who do we fight?" Dustin asked after seeing the ongoing fight

"Anyone not wearing a primary colour?" Shane suggested.

"Good plan" Tori praised as their fight began. After a while they all began to realize that they needed to help each other so when they were surrounded by the ghosts they decided to work together. They paired off, Shane with Hunter, Blake and Dustin, and finally Aria and Tori. When they managed to get rid of the ghosts the Thunders turned on the Winds and took off with their Sensei, Winds following closely behind.

 **-Quarry-**

They arrived at a quarry where they battled again. The Thunders threw their opponents to the ground in a matter of minutes.

"Why are you doing this?" Dustin asked

"Simple, revenge" Aria answered

All of a sudden the ground shook, they looked up see a zord controlled by Zurgane.

"Zurgane!"

"Who gave him keys to a zord" Dustin demanded

"That'll keep them busy" Hunter said as they ran off with Sensei. They were soon followed by Shane and Dustin.

 **-Cavern of Lost Souls-**

They had finally reached their destination. "The ninja spirits sense our presence" Sensei said nervously

"The Cavern" Blake pointed out to a dark cavern nearby

"Consider what you are about to do carefully. There are powerful forces here" Sensei warned, but they ignored him.

"The Gem of Souls" Aria breathed, this is it.

Hunter grabbed it off the pedestal and replaced it with Sensei. Just as he was about to strike the Winds came in.

"Stop!" Shane cried "Sensei didn't do anything!"

"Lothor told us everything!"

"Your Sensei destroyed our parents!"

"Lothor saw the whole thing!"

"And you believed him?"

Aria wasn't paying attention to the whole interaction, she felt a warm presence behind her causing her to turn around. Her eyes widened and tears formed.

"We're done talking" she heard Hunter say

"Put it down Hunter" their father said

"Who are you?" Shane asked

"Mom? Dad? How did you-" Aria couldn't believe it

"This is the Mountain of Lost Ninjas, we'll be her for all eternity" their father explained

"Because of him right?" Blake sneered

"No Blake, he's not responsible for what happened to us" their mother said gently

"Well then who is?" Hunter demanded

"The one they call Lothor" Their dad said

"Well there's a shock" Tori said sarcastically; Aria didn't seem to hear her

"Momma, I'm sorry. I almost lost it again I- " Aria began tears flowing like a river

"It's alright sweet heart; in time you learn how to control it. But please honey, don't shut yourself from feeling. For me" they began to fade

"They're fading!" Hunter cried desperately

"We'll always be watching out for you" their mom said

"Make us proud" their father finished as the disappeared.

"NO! COME BACK! Come back…" Aria sobbed

A new voice was heard "What a sight," it was Lothor "The Thunder Rangers crying for their mommy. My ears are burning have you been talking about me?"

"You lied to us!" Aria said, her body starting to shake, again eyes blackening, and this time her entire body was enveloped with black energy

"Not the brightest bulbs on the tree are you?"

Aria lost it at that point, completely

"Everybody down!" Blake warned, everybody immediately took cover.

Aria collapsed onto her knees and let out an ear splitting shriek, years of pent up emotion released in black, dark energy in a circle around her. It nailed Lothor in his chest and shattered the Gem that had fallen to the ground. Then it was silent, save for Aria's sobs, when the others came back up she was lying in a fetal position and saw scorch marks everywhere that energy touched. Her brothers and Dustin ran to her side and helped her up. She clung onto Dustin and cried into his Ninja uniform.

"Dude, she nailed Lothor" Shane whispered to the Bradley boys in disbelief

"What was that?" Tori asked

"We'll explain later, now's not the time" Blake said. He turned away and went to Aria, Hunter and the other's following behind.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw her brothers and ran to them, the three in a group hug.

Dustin saw what was left of the Gem on the ground

"The Gem of Souls…it's broken"

Sensei spoke up, "For better or worse, the power of the Gem cannot be destroyed."

Aria had finally stopped her sobs and only silent tears remained. She had untucked her necklace from her top and was clinging onto it as if her life depended on it.

"Speaking of power, what happened to Lothor?" Tori brought up

"I suspect that he is very much alive and I fear more desperate than ever" Sensei said.

Aria was standing at the entrance of the cavern and was lost I thought. 'Lothor saw me use my powers,' she looked back at the Winds and her brothers before staring in front of her again 'I know he's not going to stop until he finds out what my powers are, hell I'm still trying to figure it out'

She didn't notice Dustin until he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired" she lied "That took a lot out of me"

"Ari, seriously are you okay?"

The seriousness in his voice took her by surprise

With a sigh she said "Lothor will do anything to find out the extent of my powers," she looked back to her brothers "I just don't want anything bad to happen."

"You know none of us will let that happen man. Lothor's gotta go through all of us"

With a tiny hint of a smile she said "Thanks Dustin"

"C'mon guys, let's get outta here, this place is giving me the creeps" Shane said as he and the others walked up to Dustin and Aria. With that they left the cavern.

 **-Blue Bay Harbor-**

When the Thunders got back into Blue Bay they had a long discussion about whether they should leave or stay. After a couple of hours it was decided that they would leave Blue Bay and only come back if they were needed. Hunter went off and called Kelly, saying they were dropping out of the race and Blake went to tell Tori they were leaving. Aria was just sitting by herself thinking…again.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

"What's up with her?" Tori questioned about Kelly who seemed pretty pissed off

"Oh, the Bradleys blew off the race" Shane explained

With a sigh she said "Yeah, I know"

"You know? What happened?" Dustin asked, he was still worried about Aria

"Are they coming back?" Shane asked

"They're gone"

"Gone? Where?"

"I'm not sure, they said to say goodbye"

 **-Some Beach-**

The three of them were walking in their Thunder Ninja uniforms with heavy backpacks on their shoulders.

"So how long you think we'll be gone?" Blake asked

"Why you got a reason to come back?" Hunter replied with a hint of annoyance

"We all do" Aria said and walked ahead, it was the first thing she's said in a while.


	7. Chapter 6

_(Disclaimer: You should know by now...)_

 **Chapter 6: Time away**

 **(Filler)**

 **-Reefside-**

The Bradleys headed back into Reefside and laid low there. It was a couple of weeks since they left Blue Bay and they managed to find a small, cheap apartment. Aria still wasn't feeling the same; she locked herself up in her room and wouldn't come out unless it was absolutely necessary. The only sound they heard from her room was the strumming of her guitar, pen scratching on paper, soft humming, and the occasional cry of frustration. Her brothers' were getting worried about the youngest Bradley.

"Hey bro, I'm getting worried" Blake confided in Hunter

"Yeah I know me too"

"She hasn't been like this since-"

"Yeah- since mom and dad"

There was a moment of silence

"Maybe we should go back," Blake began

"I've been thinking the same thing"

"I know we don't like it but, you saw how Aria was with the others, especially Dustin"

Hunter was about to answer back when there was a loud clatter coming from the next room; it even caused Aria to come out.

"What was that?" she asked with alarm

When they went to try and discover where the noise came from they found a metal tube, inside was a scroll with a short message on it.

 _Thunder Rangers,_

 _Meet me at the sand dunes in Blue Bay._

 _I have information to share._

 _-Choobo_

The three glance at each other, "Guess it's time to go" Hunter said. They made sure no one was looking and streaked off to find the green alien.

'See you soon Dustin…hopefully' Aria thought.

(A/N:really short but hey, it was a filler! REVIEW AND FOLLOW APPRECIATED!)


	8. Chapter 7

_(Disclaimer: PRNS aint mine, Aria is blah blah blah)_

 **Chapter 7: Return of Thunder part I**

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Dustin and Tori were sitting in Storm Chargers reviewing Dustin's racing when a guy walked in; he seemed to be looking for someone.

"Hi there, I'm looking for Kelly Holloway"

Dustin's eyes widened in shock, "Dude you're-"

"Roger Hannah, nice to meet you" the man greeted with a smile

Tori came up behind Dustin who was still in shock "Who's Roger Hannah she whispered to Dustin.

"Five-time moto champ!" Dustin exclaimed "More wins than anyone on the planet!"

"That might be a bit of a stretch" he said with a small laugh

"You're team manager for Factory Blue," Dustin added when his eyes lit up with even more excitement. "Oh, wait a minute!" Dustin went a grabbed a tape that was scattered on the table "Here, watch this tape, I've been busting out some super-fast lap times" But the moto-champ just chuckled and declined.

"Maybe another time, I'm looking for a couple of riders in particular. I hear they race at the local track sometimes."

"Oh, don't tell me," Dustin grinned knowingly "One big guy, one not so big guy, and a small chick? All three insanely fast?"

"So you know them?" Roger said with great interest

"Blake, Hunter, and Aria?" Tori spoke up again "You could say we know them"

"Then you can tell me where to find them?"

Tori's face fell "I really wish I could"

Dustin decided to tease her a little, "She does dude, trust me she's um, got this thing for-"

"Don't even go there," interrupted Tori "Besides, don't you have that thing for Aria?" Dustin immediately shut up

"Here's my card if you run into them, have them call me. It's important" with that the celebrity walked out of the store.

"Sure thing later!" Dustin waved bye, "Wow, can you believe Roger Hannah-" Dustin began, but soon saw Tori wasn't standing with him anymore. He looked around and saw her wheeling his bike out of the back.

"H-hey what are you doing?!"

"I'm borrowing your bike" Tori said as if nothing was wrong

"No, you see how that usually works is that you ask me first, and then I think about it for like half a second, and then I tell you that the only way that I'd let you ride my race bike is if you tied me down and tortured me!" Dustin rambled

"You really want it to come to that?"

"Tori, I just did a prep! It's perfect!"

"Look, I really miss Blake and riding makes me feel like he's still around. And since Cam keeps the Tsunami Cycles under lock and key, this is as close as it gets." Tori admitted but Dustin was still trying a way to argue with her. "Please?!" she begged

"Alright fine!" Dustin gave up "But if you bend the bars or break the shifter off you have to-"

"Fix it, I know" and Tori walked out the store

 **-Sand Dunes-**

At the same time the Bradleys were waiting for Choobo wondering what he had to say.

Aria was in grey baggy ripped jeans, a loose black and purple stripped crop top, and black high-top converse. She was fiddling with her silver necklace, "Where is he?" she asked getting impatient

"Are you sure it said here?" Hunter asked with his arms crossed over his chest

"Yeah! Maybe he forgot or got lost. I mean he's not technically an intelligent life form" Blake reassured.

Suddenly, Choobo appeared out of nowhere and lost his balance, sliding down the dune on his chest.

With a sigh Aria looked at Blake "You think?" and they all ran to meet him.

"I think I got sand up my nose" Choobo whined

"Come on get up!" Blake said as he and Hunter yanked him up. Aria stood to the side, her hands cackled with electricity in case something went wrong.

"Alright, we're here just like you said."

"This better be worth the hike" Aria said darkly

"Oh it will be! I've made a life altering decision that will affect the entire balance of power in the universe!" Choobo exclaimed

"Are you for real?" Blake asked not really buying his explanation

"I've decided to leave Lothor's army" Choobo continued

"Leave?" Aria questioned

"Defect, turn over a new leaf, go to the light side!" Choobo rambled

With a scoff Hunter shot back, "Who said the light side would want you?"

"Because, bitter ex-employees have all sorts of information! Classified files, secret passwords to get in places, get it?"

"Like Lothor's ship" Aria realized and glanced at the two boys

"Possibly," the alien said

"What's in it for you?" Hunter asked, now getting interested in the conversation but still cautious

"Like I said, I'm bitter and I want payback for all the nasty things they said about me! What do you say?"

The three looked at each other and smiled at Choobo, signaling their agreement. The three made plans with Choobo and left, each going their separate ways; Blake went to find Tori (just like last time), Hunter dealt with their apartment in Reefside, and Aria wandered to the quarry where she first fought the Winds. She found a boulder to lean against on a cliff and was staring off into the sea. She's always felt better when she had time to herself; it gave her time to think.

She kept thinking back to what happened at the cavern and how she lost control for those few seconds and how much damage she caused. The last time that happened was when these powers first revealed themselves.

 _It was 1991, and five year old Aria was running around in her family's backyard. Her silver chained necklace swinging wildly from her neck. Her two big brothers, 6 year old Blake and 7 year old Hunter were outside with her but were playing a game they had made up as little kids do. Hunter, deciding to be the typical mean older brother went to Aria and started chasing her. Thinking it was just a game tag Aria laughed and ran in circles around him._

 _Blake, also thinking it was a game, started running with Aria as well. However, Hunter had come up behind the little girl and ripped her necklace off. When the chain snapped Aria stopped in her tracks and turned to Hunter. Blake ran inside to get their parents knowing how much Aria loved the necklace._

 _"_ _Give it back!" she demanded_

 _"_ _Or what Ari? You're just a girl!" Hunter retorted_

 _"_ _GIVE IT BACK!" her eyes blackening and the air around them picking up and darkening_

 _Hunter's eyes widened with fear as he saw what was happening._

 _Then suddenly-_

"Ari!"

Aria was brought out her thoughts when Blake and Hunter called her name out. "It's time" and they went off to Lothor's ship.

 **-Lothor's Ship-**

They streaked onto the ship and waited in an abandoned hall for Choobo.

"Hi guys!" Choobo greeted behind them. Because of instinct the two boys flipped him over while Aria sent a bolt of black lightning to him. Realizing what they had done, they helped him back up.

"That's what you get for sneaking up on people" Hunter said

"Sorry" the alien said sheepishly

"Dude, you seriously need to work on your entrances" Blake advised

"Follow me, he's taking a nap"

The four walked into the throne room where they saw Lothor really was asleep.

"We'll take it from here" Hunter told Choobo

"Fine by me"

The three ninjas slowly walked up to Lothor and were prepared to attack when he woke up and kelzaks appeared. They tried to fight them off and were about to morph when a beam shot down and made them freeze in position.

'Shit' was the last thing she thought before everything went black; when everything came to the one thing on her mind was to destroy the Wind Rangers.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

They went to Storm Chargers where they found Roger Hannah. He almost immediately asked them if they were interested in testing for Factory Blue. After exchanging information the three headed out when they ran into Dustin. Their smiles fell and were replaced with looks of annoyance.

"So did you guys sign?" Dustin asked excitedly "Factory Blue that's crazy!"

"We'll catch you later" Hunter said as he brushed past the guy in yellow

"Hey y-you guys wanna hang? We just got these new rubber stop triple clamps"

"Pass" Aria said as she gave him the side-eye and walked away

"W-what about-? Don't you guys think we have some things we need to talk about?" Dustin called out. 'What the hell?' he thought as he went out to tell Shane and Tori what happened.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Dustin walked in to find Shane and Tori sparring, he had overheard Tori say, "I trust them" when he started his story of his encounter with the Thunders.

"If 'them' is the Bradleys then you might wanna rethink that"

"What's up?" Shane asked curiously

"I just saw them at the shop and they just totally blew me off! I don't know it's like déjà vu all over again."

From where the scrolls of the Wind Academy resided Cam called out, "Technically, that's impossible Dustin"

"Whatever man I'm telling you these guys are suffering from a major brain fade. Okay, it's like our little adventure to the Cavern of Lost Souls never even happened."

"But I thought we were all cool?" Tori said

"Yeah, and like those three are ever reliable," Shane scoffed "I mean they never explained Aria's little meltdown at the Cavern" he pointed out.

"Speaking of reliable, I think someone got up on the wrong side of the bed" Cam said as he directed to the super computer. There was a new alien in town that resembled a snail, Toxipod.

"Where does Lothor find these losers anyway?" Shane complained

"Do you wanna say it? Or should I?" Tori said. With a nod all three got in position

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Power of Water!"

"Air!"

"Earth!"

 **-Construction Site-**

The three Winds leapt into action battling Toxipod and his awful odor, that's when the Bradleys made their appearance known.

"There they are" Blake said

"It's show time!" Hunter agreed as the three sent their bolts of lightning down, causing the Winds to collapse.

They leapt down to the ground and attacked, stronger than before. Blake dealt with Shane, Hunter was demolishing Dustin, and Tori was getting worked by Aria. After both sides regrouped the Bradleys were about to deliver the final strike.

"Let's finish this!" Blake jeered.

"CRIMSON BLASTER!" Hunter cried as he shot at the Winds

They landed on a ledge when Toxipod went after them again. The Thunders were about to follow when Blake suddenly collapsed in pain.

"Blake?" Aria asked with concern

"What's the matter?" Hunter added

"I don't know," Blake cried as he held his head in his hands

"They're getting away! Let's go!"

"I can't!" Blake groaned

The other two kept trying to get Blake back up but nothing was working, he just kept groaning in pain. This was really starting to worry the other two. When he finally got up Hunter kept asking if he was alright.

"I told you I'm fine," he said in annoyance "Let's go"

They both began to walk forward when Aria stopped them both, "Wait" they all looked up to see a giant Toxipod. They called their zords and went into action.

"Oh yeah! Our turn haha!" Blake laughed as his Beetlezord appeared.

"On it!" Hunter agreed as his Insectizord pulled into view

"Did you miss us wind weasels?" Aria mocked as she flew overhead in her Scarabzord.

"Oh great the bugs are back" Shane said dryly

All of a sudden, Hunter just stopped causing his siblings to face him.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Blake asked, it was his turn to get worried.

"I feel…weird" Hunter groaned "Why are we fighting?"

"I feel it too" Aria said as she landed her zord. The three zords were now in a circle facing each other.

"Where am I?" Hunter said to himself

They all just sat there in confusion before a beam hit all three. Hunter's attitude did a 180 along with his younger siblings.

"What was I thinking?! Let's crush them!"

"With you all the way!" Blake agreed while Aria let out a laugh and took flight with her zord once again.

They watched as the Winds took Toxipod down for them

"The snail's escargot!" Hunter cried

"Now it's our turn, no mercy!" Ari shouted out

"THUNDER MEGAZORD GOING ONLINE!" Hunter yelled

"Initiate sequence NOW" Blake commanded as all three zords formed their Thunder Megazord.

The battle began as soon as the transformation was done, the Thunders clashed with the Winds, both trying to get the upper hand. But their battle didn't last long as both teams were sucked into a portal, leaving their megazords behind.

 **-Mystery Island-**

After they were taken Aria blacked out again and woke up to find herself on a mysterious island, not far from her was Blake. She ran up to him and was trying to shake him awake. When he came to they looked for Hunter who was a little farther away.

"That little traitor is gonna pay" Hunter said darkly

"Who guys know where we are?" Aria asked

"I heard Lothor talking about it on the ship, I think it's called Portico Island" Blake answered.

Aria's face paled upon hearing that name "Shit"

"Why? What's wrong Ri?" Hunter asked

"I've read about this place before, back at the Academy," Aria explained "It's said that this place rises up from the sea every couple hundred years and then…"

"And then it sinks back into the ocean" Blake finished after a few seconds

"Come on," Hunter began "Maybe if we get the Winds Lothor will get us back home"

They all knew it was unlikely, but the Winds had to be destroyed. They were enemies after all, right?

(A/N: What happens next? Please Review, Follow, and Favorite! Thanks 3)


	9. Chapter 8

_(Disclaimer: i own Aria, not PRNS...this is when s**t gets real)_

 **Chapter 8: Return of Thunder part II**

The three wandered the beach; they had changed into their Ninja Uniforms and were looking for the Winds. When they spotted the others they streaked off into the nearby woods to lure them into battle. Shane saw them and the Winds went to follow the streaks of colour.

"It came this way, I saw it!" Shane said as he and the others caught their breath. This was when the Thunders landed in front of them.

"Good eye Shane" Blake said, his voice dripping with sarcasm

"You ever wonder if three Thunder Ninjas got in a fight with three Wind Ninjas, who would win?" Hunter asked

Trying to reason with them Tori said "No one, the only way we'd win is to work together"

"Which I thought we were doing" Dustin said

"I guess you were wrong" Aria retorted "Tell you what, we'll even give you a head start if you wanna run"

"Sorry Tor," Shane said "Whatever's up with these guys, we're not gonna fix it by letting them stomp us"

"I have no intention of letting them stomp us" Tori said with a glare fixed on Blake.

The Winds ripped off their clothes to reveal their ninja gear beneath and got into their fighting stances; both sets of trios circling each other.

"We don't wanna fight you, but you give us no choice!" Shane warned

"Oh shut up already" Aria said as both groups ran towards each other and started fighting. Shane was against Hunter while Blake and Aria were switching off between Tori and Dustin.

The two reds had an intense battle, both being pretty well matched. The others had a pretty good battle going too. Blake using his incredible fighting skills to easily deflect the blue and yellow Winds' attacks and Aria charging her fists to give small shocks whenever she hit someone. Both looked calm while fighting while their opponents were clearly getting frustrated.

The battles were soon moved to the beach where the Thunders faced the Winds.

 **-Beach-**

"We having fun yet?" Shane asked

"No, but there's always this" Hunter shot back

"THUNDER STORM! RANGER FORM!"

"Power of Thunder!"

"We knew that was coming" Dustin said

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Power of Earth"

"Air"

"Water"

"Oh it's on now!" Aria shouted out with a laugh "We're through taking it easy on you!"

"You're right Shane, they're not gonna listen to reason" Tori said

"If it's them or us…I choose us" Dustin said

"Thank you! Finally somebody's listening to me!" Shane thanked

"NINJA SWORDS!" the three called

They all streaked off to the same groups

"Hawk Blaster!" Shane called and fired at Hunter

"My blaster's bigger than yours!" and Hunter shot Shane down to the ground.

With the other four Blake had just used Dustin's Ninja Beams to hit Tori causing to be distracted for a second.

"Your aim is lame Dustin, but I'm not shocked, are you?!" Aria yelled as the shot electricity out of her hand. The black lightning wrapped itself around Dustin and she used it to pick him up and spin him around only to throw him aside. Aria shot at all three with a ball of electricity from her daggers causing them to fall at their feet.

"You've got to stop this!" Shane demanded

"Say good bye rangers!" Hunter said

"Alright look, you seriously have some emotional problems you're dealing with. You ever tried group therapy?"

Aria looked away, she was feeling weird again. 'What's happening?'

"This is getting really old!" Tori complained

"Hey I love dirt as much as the next guy but-" Dustin began

Blake decided to push him further "Too bad it doesn't show in your riding Dustin!" Hunter let out a laugh

"Oh you did NOT just bag on my riding!" Dustin roared as he charged.

Blake and Hunter began fighting again as Aria just stood there.

She thought aloud "Why are we fighting them?" She saw Blake force Dustin to the ground with his Navy Antlers.

"Wait, isn't Dustin our friend?" she was getting flashbacks of when they first met, the subtle glances they gave each other, and all the fun times they had at the track and Storm Chargers.

"Guys," she called to her brothers "This is wrong…" causing the Bradley boys to become distracted.

"What are you talking about Ri?" Blake demanded, they didn't see Shane and Tori activate their Ninja Beams which caused them to fall on top of one another.

"STORM STRIKER!" the Winds called and aimed their weapon at the Thunders.

"FIRE!" Shane commanded, they hit their target and ended up waking the Bradleys up from their brainwashed state. As they tried to tell the Winds that they were back to normal the primary coloured rangers slashed their Ninja Swords at them causing them to collapse again.

"Now just stay down!" Tori shouted

"Can we get outta here" Dustin whined

"Good idea, I'm so over this" Shane agreed "Careful guys" he warned as he and the others made their way over, swords drawn, to the Thunders who were struggling to their feet.

With their visors open they managed to sit up

"Oh my head!" Aria groaned "Wanna put the sword down?" she added seeing Shane's ninja sword in her face

"Huh? Where are we?" Hunter asked, clearly confused about the whole thing "You two alright?" They both nodded to reassure that they were fine

"They seem like themselves" Tori said to her teammates

Suddenly a voice rang out "HEY!" it was Choobo "YOU DOWN THERE IN THE BUG SUITS!"

"He better not be talking to us" Aria said through gritted teeth as her visor closed.

"YEAH I'M TALKIN' TO YOU! I WORKED TO HARD FOR YOU TO MESS THINGS UP NOW!"

There was a blast behind the Winds revealing SuperToxipod, a suped up version of the snail alien from earlier.

"You can't keep a good snail down, miss me?" the snail/clam/crab alien said.

He sent a blast towards the rangers and began the typical villain monologue about how he wants to sink the island. Then Kelzaks appeared drawing their Thunder Staffs out they began to go help their friends. But before they could anything Choobo came down in front of the Thunders, which was when he began his plan.

"Listen to me Black Ranger; your brothers have betrayed you! Hear me?" Choobo started

"Yeah, like I'm gonna believe that!" Aria fired back

From Lothor's ship Marah and Kapri fired a beam at the Thunders, "Never did like her anyway" Marah said as she and Kapri laughed. From the ground the Bradleys saw the beam coming towards them so using her staff Aria knocked her brothers out of the way. Leaving her to take the full effect herself, "Guys look out!" she cried. She shrieked in pain as the beam's power took hold of her.

"Are you okay Ri?" Hunter asked his baby sister

"I don't know, I think so, I feel kinda weird" she groaned her visor glowed red from the beam

"Here's the real deal," Choobo began once again "You can't trust you brothers anymore! That pretty blue ranger has convinced them to join their team. They said that they couldn't trust someone with power like you."

Aria looked away, was Choobo right? Did Blake and Hunter betray her? 'They both did seem interested in Tori' she thought to herself.

"What are babbling about?" Blake demanded

"We'd never turn on our sister; you're the one with the evil plan!" Hunter agreed

"Tell her the truth! She deserves to know you betrayed her and your poor lost parents!"

Knowing that would send her over the edge, they turned to face their little sister who looked deep in thought.

"Ri! Don't listen to him! It's all a bunch of lies!" Blake cried

"You're trying to destroy us!" Hunter yelled at Choobo

She finally looked up to the two boys "My own brothers…" her voice cold as ice. Her fist clenched and her grip on her Thunder Staff tightened as she slashed at Blake and Hunter. Caught by surprise the two boys fell to their knees.

"What's the matter with you? Have you lost your ninja mind?" Blake demanded

"You don't deserve to call yourselves Thunder Rangers…TRAITORS!" with a yell Aria charged for the two, not wanting to hurt their little sister they focused on dodging her rain of attacks.

"Don't you remember anything that's happened?" Hunter shouted as he blocked another one of her attacks.

"I remember you sold me out to those wind weasels!" she answered as she slashed again.

From a couple of yards away Shane saw the Bradley boys were fighting off their sister taking all the Winds by surprise. 'Aria would never do that' Dustin thought 'What happened?' The winds kept fighting off Kelzaks until one got a face full of toxic stem and went rouge and got rid of the others by itself.

After knocking both brothers to the ground Ari held up her daggers and created a ball of lightning that would destroy them at this close range.

"Now you'll pay!" she announced

"Aria no!" the Wind cried

"You brought this on yourselves boys"

"But you're not thinking straight!" Blake said desperately "You got zapped by that beam remember!"

"More lies! Don't listen to them!" Choobo shouted at the girl

The hold from the beam was slowly fading as she lowered her daggers "But…I…"

"Ari," Hunter began "Look into your heart, you know the truth."

Just then, a giant cloud of toxic steam erupted from the rock by Aria's face. The older Bradleys were able to escape but Aria was stuck in the middle of it. She grabbed her face in agony and screamed as the steam invaded her thoughts. The others saw her black lightning cackle around her as she de-morphed. When the steam vanished Aria was standing in front of them in her Ninja Uniform her normally beautiful Grey-green eyes were now pitch black, including the whites of her eyes, and she had balls of black energy in each of her hands. What really surprised the other rangers was that she was a few inches off the ground, she was flying!

'No…' Hunter thought with panic

"This is the end boys" Her voice changed too, it was distorted yet still feminine. She flew at both of them launching the balls of energy at them. They rolled out of the way but one skimmed Blake's shoulder, when he looked down he saw a burn mark on his ranger suit. Tori and Dustin ran forward, leaving Shane with SuperToxipod, to hold Aria down.

"Don't hurt her!" The two brothers yelled

"We're not trying to hurt her" Tori stated

"We're trying to hold her!" Dustin finished

She got out of their hold and scratched at both of them.

"No stop! Aria!" Blake cried as he tried to hold his sister down "Come on! You're stronger than this!" But she turned a fired straight in to his chest, knocking him out.

Next Hunter tried to talk some sense into her.

"Stop! Think about everything we've been through!" Aria just gave a sick and evil smirk as she used her powers to create a tendril of dark energy to grab Hunter by the neck, lift him up, and throw him to the ground beside Blake; knocking him out as well.

Seeing what happened Shane stepped in front of the two Bradleys "This has gone far enough! Ninja Smoke Screen!" in colours of smoke the five rangers disappeared making Aria shriek in frustration and blast at Choobo; she flew off in search of them.

 **-Hidden Cave-**

The three Winds brought Blake and Hunter to a narrow, hidden cavern and laid them on the ground. Tori knelt beside them, "Blake, Hunter wake up! Please wake up!" she said as she gently shook both of them. Suddenly both boys had electricity run up and down their suits causing all three Winds to jump back "What's happening to them?"

After a few seconds they de-morphed and laid still. As the three went back to the two boys and shook them awake they jumped up and started flailing their arms before being soothed by Tori, "You're alright, you're alright". Drained both physically and mentally the two boys just fell back and laid there thinking about what just happened.

After a couple of minutes, Blake and Hunter gained enough strength to get up; they walked to the edge of a nearby cliff and looked out to the sea. Upon sensing the Winds behind them they turned to face them.

"We're the only family Aria has," Blake began "She's always been there for us"

"Now she needs our help" Hunter finished "We're not gonna let her down"

Tori spoke up "We'll do whatever we can"

Knowing Shane may not trust them know, Hunter spoke directly to him. "Shane, that wasn't us back there."

"I know. I should've known, we're here for you guys"

"Totally" Dustin agreed

The two boys looked at each other; they were going to get their little sister back

 **-Across the Island-**

Aria flew around, blasting every other rock insight; her hair whipped around her face and her pitch black eyes had a wild, crazed look to them.

"WHERE ARE YOU?! BLAKE! HUNTER! YOU WILL PAY!"

To be continued…

(A/N: Reviews appreciated...I really hope you guys are liking this!)


	10. Chapter 9

_(Disclaimer:_ PRNS isnt mine, only Aria Bradley. now we get a little insight on her past)

 **Chapter 9: Return of Thunder part III**

 **-Beach-**

The five rangers were on the beach, trying to locate where Aria would be when they realized that the temperature had dropped immensely.

"Hey, is it just me or is it getting seriously cold here?" Dustin asked, rubbing his arms for warmth. Something in the sand caught his eye, picking it up he realized it was the necklace Aria wore every day. 'Must've fallen off while we were fighting' he thought. It was a thick silver band that had an interesting purple gem embedded in it; the band had a weird inscription on it that consisted of a bunch of unfamiliar symbols. He pocketed it and told himself to keep it safe for her.

"Yeah, most of the time I'd say it's just you, but it is getting seriously cold here" Shane agreed

"I'd really like to know why we can morph, but we can't reach Ninja Ops" Tori brought up

"Yeah, well I'd settle for knowing where we are"

"Portico Island" The Bradleys answered at the same time. The Winds just stopped and stared at them in disbelief.

"What?" Blake asked innocently

"Anything else you wanna share with the class?" Shane said

"Nah you don't wanna know, trust me"

"Trust us, we do" Tori said

"I heard Lothor talking to his pals just before he sent us back to Earth," Blake began "Ari read about it back at our Academy, this place doesn't exist on any map. And rises up out of the sea every 200 years or something…"

"And then what?" Dustin asked

"Well that's the part that's kinda harsh" Hunter answered

Tori, picking up on what was happening asked "You're telling us that his whole place is sinking back into the ocean?!"

"Told ya you wouldn't wanna know"

"Come on, we better find some higher ground" Shane said as the group moved back up the island.

 **-Across the Island-**

Aria was getting frustrated; she had since stopped flying and was stumbling on a hillside. "Where are you? Must destroy rangers!" She shouted out madly.

From on top of a boulder Choobo spoke to Aria "That's right, Thunder Rangers Blake and Hunter are your enemies. Lead me right to them"

Aria shot her head up "I work alone" she said in her distorted voice and shot a blast at Choobo before walking away.

 **-Grassy Cliff-**

The other Rangers found a spot to take a break for a while. They had been hiking for hours and seriously needed one.

"Is anyone else worried we haven't seen Aria for hours?" Dustin asked

"Not me;" Shane said "I could use a break from getting my ass whooped" at that moment Blake and Hunter turned and shot a glare at the red ranger.

"Hey no offense, but your sis isn't exactly playing well with others these days"

"Look," Hunter began "Ri is a great ranger, and one day you're gonna be glad she has those powers."

"Sure, when she stops using them against us"

Tori sat down beside Dustin, "How'd you get them anyway?"

"What?" Blake asked

"Your powers, you never told us how any of it happened"

"Yeah, and what about the whole eye thing with Aria" Dustin added

"It's a long story, you really wanna know?"

"Yeah well it's either that or watch Dustin play in the dirt" Shane said motioning to Dustin who was using a stick to dig a hole in the ground.

Hunter began their story "Sensei Omino taught our parents the way of the Thunder Ninja, when they…passed away he brought us to the Thunder Academy. He helped us get through everything, we felt like we belonged again."

Blake continued, "We all did very well in our training, especially Aria. Sensei Omino he was…grooming us for something, we didn't know what."

"So that's when Lothor showed up" Dustin concluded

"Yeah, our school was attacked, Kelzaks and aliens were everywhere. Sensei gave us our morphers he told we'd know what to do."

"Except at that moment he got captured by Lothor," Hunter said

Dustin spoke up again, "When you get into those ball things…what's it feel like? You know is like cool going up a freestyle ramp-" The brothers just rolled their eyes in annoyance before Shane told him to shut up.

"Once we got onto Lothor's ship he was really pissed that the ranger powers got passed onto us"

Blake finished "It was when he told us the lie about our parents."

"So that's when you got all medieval on us" Shane concluded

"Let's not go there again" Tori said right away

Blake went to his sister's defense "You gotta understand, Aria's a great person, but when someone betrays her trust, you better watch out"

Hunter continued "She would never use her powers on another person, but when she's enraged or hurt than it tends to take control."

"Yeah, you never explained those by the way" Shane brought up

The brothers turned to each other; they would need to know sooner or later, might as well tell the truth.

"Our parents told us how each of us were adopted, Blake and I were at a regular orphanage when they took us in; Aria was different though."

"One day, Sensei Omino was outside of the Academy when he heard a baby crying near the entrance. There he found Aria; she was only about three months old when he found her, we don't know for sure." Blake continued

"There was nothing with her, no letter, no birth certificate, nothing. She was only wrapped in a purple blanket and had a silver chain necklace and a matching ring hanging from it."

"Sensei called our parents right away, he knew they wanted another kid and thought it was best to give her to them. Everything was fine, the three of us bonded really well; but one day something happened to her."

Hunter recalled the day her powers came

 _It was 1991, and five year old Aria was running around in her family's backyard. Her silver chained necklace swinging wildly from her neck. Her two big brothers, 6 year old Blake and 7 year old Hunter were outside with her but were playing a game they had made up. Hunter, deciding to be the typical mean older brother went to Aria and started chasing her. Thinking it was just a game tag Aria laughed and ran in circles around him._

 _Blake, also thinking it was a game, started running with Aria as well. However, Hunter had come up behind the little girl and ripped her necklace off. When the chain snapped Aria stopped in her tracks and turned to Hunter. Blake ran inside to get their parents knowing another fight was going to break out._

 _"_ _Give it back!" she demanded_

 _"_ _Or what Ari? You're just a girl!" Hunter retorted_

 _"_ _GIVE IT BACK!" her eyes blackening and the air around them picking up and darkening_

 _Hunter's eyes widened with fear as he saw what was happening._

 _Then suddenly a ball of black energy erupted from her little hand. Hunter had tears coming down his face out of fear and had dropped the necklace to the ground._

 _From the back door Aria's mom and dad watched in horror as their baby girl started to fly upwards and tower over their eldest son. Her little body had a dark force around her, causing her curly hair to whip around her face._

 _A distorted voice came from the small child, "GIVE! IT! BACK!" she sent the blast at Hunter, hitting him in his stomach._

 _Aria's mom came running out, followed by her dad who was checking up on Hunter, and snatched the necklace from the ground. She looked up to the little girl and held it up to her; she too had tears running down her face. Slowly Aria descended and reached for her necklace. When she had hold of it she calmed down completely and returned back to normal. However, she saw she did to Hunter and burst into tears. Blake came running out to both siblings and giving them each a hug; or at least attempting, since Aria refused to let anyone touch her._

"Thankfully, because she was only 5 her powers weren't as strong as they are now. I only have a small scar on my stomach, no other damage." Hunter finished "But we think that's why Aria's Thunder Ninja powers are also insanely strong"

The Winds sat there with their mouths open in disbelief. 'She was only five years old,' Tori thought 'She was traumatized at such a young age'

"From that moment on, Aria trained herself to not feel strong emotions; rage, pain, sadness," Blake finished "That eventually evolved into not feeling any other emotions. She was so scared of losing it again that she bottled everything up inside"

"She's got a lot of emotions pent up"

"Then we gotta help her" Tori said as she got up and stood beside Blake "Come on, we better go find her"

Shane nodded his head in agreement while Dustin just sat there

"Do we have to?" he whined not really wanting to get his ass whopped again. Hunter pulled him up by his collar to make him stand up.

 **-Meanwhile-**

Aria collapsed on her knees and started crawling in the dirt, the toxic steam wasn't just messing with her brain, but her powers; they were draining and she was going back and forth from craziness and sanity. "What's happened to me?" she groaned. She looked up from behind her hair, now wet with sweat and ocean water, at the green alien in front of her. Her eyes slowly fading from black to grey-green then back to black

"Do we really need to go over this again? Repeat after me, the rangers are you enemies, your brothers betrayed you, say it Blake and Hunter betrayed you"

As if her brothers' names were trigger words for her she repeated Choobo; venom dripping in those words, "They betrayed me". Rage started to build up inside of her again causing her eyes to go black yet again.

"That's right, brothers bad, Choobo good. Now, pull yourself together, I wanna be home in time for my cartoons"

With new regained strength Aria took off again to find the other rangers. "No more Rangers!" she laughed evilly before starting off.

 **-Quarry-**

The rangers were now back at the quarry walking on rocks and partially blinded from all the smoke.

"Man this island reeks!" Dustin exclaimed

This was heard by Aria across the way, she smirked then threw herself down a sand hill to try and look injured.

"Look, over there!" Hunter cried out, the five ran over to the fallen girl, however she got up and had a sick smile on her face before she blasted at them. It didn't hit any of them but they were still blown back, when the smoke cleared they saw SuperToxipod had appeared on Island too.

"You guys better bail! 'Cause I'm one bad snail!"

"If you're a snail, how come you look more like a crab?" Dustin joked

"Crab, snail whatever!" S.T (this is how he's being referred to as now) yelled as he blasted the rangers.

"Time to plug this slug"

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM!"

"THUNDER STORM!

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Power of Earth!"

"Water!"

"Air!"

"Power of Thunder!"

The five initiated their Ninja Shadow Battle and fought to take down S.T.

Seeing Aria was no longer at the quarry, Blake used his Navy Antlers to pick up S.T and demand where she was.

"What's it to you?" S.T shot back, Blake tossed him in front of the Winds and let them finish him off.

The five opened their visors and ran towards each other, the Bradleys were upset they didn't get to Aria in time but at least the snail/crab/clam alien was gone.

"Everyone okay?" Shane asked, everyone nodded yes while Hunter and Blake looked around

"Where's Ari?" Hunter asked

Suddenly, Aria popped up from behind a couple of rocks and attacked, "There you are…TRAITORS!"

"Look!" Shane shouted as he spotted Aria. Her appearance was ragged, her hair wild and frizzing, her uniform's gloves and wrist guards had been burned off, and she had maddened look on her face.

She flew over the Winds and blasted her brothers from above before landing softly in front of them. She then transformed the balls of energy to form a whip and used it to catch Blake's wrist.

"Ri, snap out of it! Lothor's done something to you!" He cried desperately

"Liar!"

"Listen to me!" Blake begged as he reached for his sister's shoulder

"No mere lies!" she shouted as she used her hold on him to flip him on his back.

When the others tried to help, Choobo appeared and now they had their own battle to worry about.

It was Hunter's turn to fight; seeing him coming towards her she used her whip to lash at him, catching him in his chest and knocking him to the ground.

"Ari, you gotta trust us!" he yelled

Aria just lashed at him again and yelled in frustration as he rolled away from her attack.

"Why should I?"

Her whip disappeared and she had the balls of energy in her hands as she put her knee on Hunter's chest and held one close to his face

"Aria, please" he groaned, his chest still hurt from when she lashed at him with her whip.

"You betrayed me, and now you'll pay for your betrayal!"

Blake had now managed to get up and ran over to Aria and Hunter. He pulled her off their brother, only for him to be knocked back by Aria.

"It was Choobo and Lothor, they betrayed us, Think Ari think!" he shouted as he backed away from her.

However, she stopped and looked as if she were remembering something. The balls of energy disappeared as she had flashbacks of how Lothor and Choobo tricked them and even her parents at the Cavern.

Blake ran up to her and gently shook her, "Think Ari think!"

Hunter joined in as he came up beside his brother "You're under some kind of spell"

She screamed in a mix of confusion and frustration, "You're confusing me! No more ninja tricks!" as she pushed both boys to the ground, an energy ball in each hand ready to strike. But the two boys swept her feet from under her and got back up.

"We're your brothers!" Blake tried

"I have no brothers" she said darkly as she fired at them both; narrowly missing their visors.

At that moment, time seemed to go by slowly as both boys thought back to promises they made after their parents died.

 _"_ _Promise me something, both of you" an 11 year old Aria said to her brothers_

 _"_ _What?" a 13 year old Hunter replied_

 _"_ _If I ever lose control of those powers, promise me you'll do whatever it takes to stop me"_

 _"_ _What are you talking about?" Blake demanded as he and Hunter stared at Aria in shock_

 _"_ _Mom and dad are gone now, mom was the only one who was able to keep me in check." She said as she stared at nothing in front of her_

 _Knowing how important this was to her the three agreed._

The Bradley boys looked to each other and came to a silent agreement

"Enough is enough" Blake growled

"Time for some tough love!" Hunter agreed just as Aria was charging at them.

Both grabbed for their Thunder Staffs and struck Aria in the chest causing her to fall down on her back in pain. The two held their weapons by her head to keep her down.

Using his 'Big Brother Voice' Hunter told Aria "Now you're gonna listen and you're gonna listen good!"

"Aria! Your name is Aria!" Blake shouted as Aria was groaning in pain. Her body flailing and her wild hair covering most of her face

"You're our sister! Come on man shake it off! Shake it off!"

"No, you're lying to me. I KNOW THE TRUTH!" Aria yelled, her voice cracking slightly as she grabbed hold of their Thunder Staffs and kicked them off of her. "Something is wrong! My head!" she cried as she stood up, her voice no longer sounding distorted and malicious. She shook her head and shut her eyes tight as more flashbacks came; their first years training at the Academy, them laughing at Blake's attempt to hit on Tori, and laughing at Storm Chargers after meeting the Winds. "Ugh, it's coming back!" she shook her head once more and shot her eyes open, revealing their normal hue, "I remember…" was all she said before collapsing on her back from pain, exhaustion, and guilt.

Upon seeing this Blake and Hunter opened their visors and ran to their little sister, fearing the worse. "ARIA!"

At that moment, the Winds had defeated Choobo and saw a de-morphed Blake and Hunter trying to wake up their sister. "NINJA FORM" they commanded as they de-morphed as well.

"No…come on Ri, stay with me!" Blake cried desperately "Stay with me!"

Slowly her eyes opened to see Hunter holding her head and Blake trying to wake her up; his fist near her jugular, constricting her breathing a bit.

"Dude…" she said weakly "Kinda need to breathe here"

Blake and Hunter laughed as they helped her up, they had their family again. "Thanks guys, you kept your promise" she reached up for her necklace only to find it wasn't there. "No…" she said as tears formed in her eyes.

That's when the Winds ran up and saw the three Bradleys on the sand.

"She's back to being Aria" Tori observed

"Good Aria or bad Aria?"

"You know who we are?'

"Yeah…my friends…" she said as the Winds smiled down at her. Minutes later Shane's morpher beeped. Aria was standing off by herself as the others crowded around Shane. 'What have I done? I almost killed my only family.' She reached up to her neck 'And I lost my necklace, the only thing I have of my birth mother' tears were forming in her eyes. After taking a few seconds to blink the tears away she went back to the group. All she heard was something about zords to take them back home. As Shane and the others were about to morph she told them to wait a second.

"I just wanted to say it means a lot, the way you stood up for me."

"Hey, it's okay" Shane said

Then remembering form earlier Dustin spoke up "Oh wait!" he pulled out her necklace and handed it to her "Here, I found it on the beach."

Her eyes widened as she took it and placed it back on; with now happy tears she looked up to him and thanked him.

"Okay, so before this turns into a group hug, we better go" Shane interrupted; she let out a small laugh and walked off with the others.

All of a sudden, S.T appeared again, this time 30 stories high.

"This bitch…"Aria complained as she and the others got ready to morph.

"You guys ready for this?"

"Ready"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM!"

"THUNDERSTORM!"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"NINJA RANGER POWER!"

When the zords came into view, they leapt into action forming their megazords right away. With the combined efforts of the Winds and Thunders they managed to destroy SuperToxipod and head back home just as the island sank back into the sea.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

The Bradleys followed a nervous Dustin into Storm Chargers. Aria was still upset about Portico Island and her normally stylish appearance was replaced with leggings, an oversized black t-shirt, and combat boots. Her curly hair pulled up in a messy ponytail.

"Hey Kel," Dustin greeted.

"Huh, look at what the cat dragged in"

"Kel, I can explain I was kinda stuck in the middle of nowhere-"

Aria spoke up from behind the three boys "It wasn't his fault, he was helping us out"

"Well that doesn't surprise me; you could've called, sent an email!"

"You gotta trust me! If there was any way I would've been here, I'm really sorry"

"Dustin's telling you the truth, as for my brothers and I; we know we let you down a bunch of times. We're through with that, we wanna start over."

"We'll make it up to you" Hunter agreed

"Well, I'm still kinda shorthanded, could do with a couple of stock boys"

"Stock boys?" Hunter said, starting to regret opening his mouth

"You know, someone to open boxes, clean the floors at night-"

"I was thinking more the lines of head mechanic or-" Hunter never finished as Aria put her hand over his mouth

"We'll take it" Blake said

"Great, well you can start by helping me clean up this mess"

"We just got one more thing to deal with and then we'll be back in like half an hour I promise!" Dustin said as he and the other guys practically ran out the door, Aria just shook her head and followed them.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

"Wait a minute, lets me get this straight, after all we've been through you guys just wanna walk away from being rangers?" Shane asked in disbelief.

"We have to" Hunter said

"Lothor isn't gonna rest until he destroys us" Blake agreed

"Join the club dude" Dustin pointed out

"We can't let anything happen to you because of us, you guys are the only thing standing between Lothor and millions of people."

"You've been given a gift, isn't it your responsibility to use that gift?" Tori argued

Aria spoke up from beside Hunter, "Our ranger powers are a gift, my other abilities aren't. Now that Lothor has seen my full power, he'll do anything to get it."

"Tori is right," Sensei said "Sensei Omino knew the Thunder Ranger powers were meant for you. But I cannot force you to live up to your responsibility."

"So what do you say? You guys in or not?" Shane said with a smile

The three told them that they would think about it. Sensei offered the three of them to stay in Ninja Ops with him and Cam for the time being, which they gladly accepted. They easily moved their stuff and settled in.

To be continued…

(A/N: Longest...Chapter...Yet! Review and follow!)


	11. Chapter 10

_(Disclaimer: PRNS isnt mine blah blah Aria is blah blah)_

 **Chapter 10: Return of Thunder part IV**

 **-Storm Chargers-**

It had been about two weeks since Portico Island and the Bradleys were getting used to things in Blue Bay. However, Aria was still a little shaken and mostly stuck to herself and her guitar. She was strumming away while Blake and Hunter were hard at work.

"This is the last of the new stuff" Hunter informed Kelly has he and Blake brought a couple of boxes in.

"You guys are doing great, keep it up and you never know!" she praised. She walked over to Aria, "You sure you don't wanna work here?"

"I'm sorry Kels, but lately I haven't been feeling like myself, just wanna take time away you know?"

Kelly smiled at the curly haired girl "Yeah, I get it. Let me know if you change your mind"

Aria returned the smile, put her guitar back in her case, and walked over to her brothers just as Dustin walked up towards them.

"Thanks for the hookup" she heard Hunter say to Dustin

"Wanna easy way to repay me?"

"If it involves morphers and megazords, we're still thinking" Aria spoke up from behind the yellow clad teen.

He put his arms around Hunter's and Blake's shoulders "I know the whole Sensei guinea pig thing seems a little out there, but once you get past the big teeth and the clothes and the talking it's really not that unusual."

"On what planet is that not unusual?" Aria answered

"Look, it's nothing to do with Sensei alright, it's just uh- we gotta big decision. But we won't keep you hanging ok" Blake said

"Cool, hey guys we're still riding later?"

"After work," Hunter said "Meet us at the beach"

"All over it" Dustin said as the three walked out.

 **-Beach-**

After Blake and Hunter got off of work and Aria dropped her guitar off at Ninja Ops, the three siblings were at the beach, already racing each other as they waited for Dustin.

"Man, I could definitely chill here for a while" Blake said as he admired the view

"Totally" Aria said in agreement

"So, that's two votes for staying," Hunter joked

"Just seems like everything we've been through…must be for a reason" Blake thought aloud

Hunter scrunched his face and rolled his eyes "Don't go all zen on me dude!"

"Hey ease up dude, we all know it's the right thing to do" Aria defended Blake.

A familiar voice spoke up behind them, "To Ranger or not to Ranger? What a stupid question!" Choobo sneered.

"Dude, private conversation" Hunter said as the three siblings stood before the alien.

"Yeah, what do you want anyway?" Aria growled

"I'm thinking…REVENGE!" Choobo yelled as he blasted at the Bradleys. They managed to roll out of the way and stood back up to morph.

"THUNDERSTORM! RANGER FORM!"

"Power of Thunder!"

"Here, let me give you a hand!" Choobo yelled as his pack opened, three hands reached for them, and pulled the three in.

As she was being dragged away Aria screamed aloud "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"

 **-Alt. Dimension-**

Once the three were inside they each had a hand on their Thunder Staffs, this was Choobo's world and they didn't know what to expect.

"Nice look," Blake commented sarcastically, "Very dungeon-y"

Suddenly, a speeding Choobo came at them and slashed all three across their chests' numerous times before they fell to their knees.

"You're powers are no good here, my alternate realm may seem scary at first, but you'll get used to it; after a few hundred years!"

"Sorry, but we won't be staying!"

"Hold on, we gotta be careful, this is his house" Aria reminded the Navy Ranger.

"That's right little ranger! And you'll never get out! But don't worry, after I capture your fellow rangers, you'll have plenty of company!" Choobo mocked.

"Not gonna happen!" Aria cried out, no one threatens her friends. That statement had Aria clenching her fists in anger, but she knew better than to let it get to her. Soon her anger was replaced with protectiveness and she was ready to fight.

"You will learn to respect me in my house or you will suffer a fate worse than death!" Choobo threatened

Aria simply said "I already do" before she slashed at Choobo.

 **-Beach-**

Dustin pulled up on his dirt bike looking for Aria, Blake, and Hunter only to find their bikes in the sand.

He looked around in confusion, wondering where they were "This is too weird" he thought aloud.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Dustin soon found himself at Ninja Ops and telling the others what happened to him at the beach.

"Blake, Hunter, and Aria aren't the most reliable guys, but leaving their bikes…no way!" Shane exclaimed.

"I don't know about you, but I smell a rodent" upon realizing what she said she quickly apologized to Sensei "No offense Sensei."

"None taken Tori, I too suspect foul play"

"It probably has something to do with this," Cam said as he zoomed in on a video of Choobo in the middle of the woods. "I'm assuming he's not there for the scenery"

"I don't know dude, that place is kinda cool, especially this time of year!" Dustin blurted

The other four just looked at him with looks of confusion.

"Right…"

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Power of Earth!"

"Air!"

"Water!"

And the rangers were off to find their friends.

 **-Woods-**

The Winds found Choobo sitting in the middle of the woods when he sent down a group of Kelzaks. With Tori's Sonic Fin they were able to get rid of them and find a way to free the Bradleys.

 **-Alt. Dimension-**

The Thunders and Choobo were in a heated battle until the alien started convulsing with electricity. They didn't even have a second to comprehend what had happened before they were shot out of the pack and into the middle of nowhere.

 **-Open Field-**

"What the hell?" Aria asked

"That was just weird…" Hunter thought aloud

Suddenly, the Winds caught up to them

"You guys okay?" Tori asked

"We're fine"

Choobo appeared in front of the six rangers "You rangers and your teamwork really cheese me off!"

"Really dude? Cheese?" Aria questioned

"You guys ready?" Shane asked as they prepared for battle

"Yeah!"

"WIND RANGERS! HYAH!"

"THUNDER RANGERS! HYAH!"

Choobo sent a blast to the rangers but they disappeared before they were hit, leaving only their ranger suits. As he looked around in confusion Dustin snuck up behind him and attacked with his Lion Hammer. Next came Tori with her Ninja Sword and Hunter with his Crimson Blaster as they shot at Choobo. Next was Aria as she ran up to Choobo and slashed him with her Black Daggers. Then came Blake you latched his Navy Antlers around the general's waist and shocked him with navy lightning. And finally, Shane used his Ninja Air Attack as a final blow.

When they regrouped each trio combined their weapons to form the Storm Striker and Thunder Blaster.

"WAIT!" Choobo cried

"Oh what now?" Shane grumbled

"I wanna have a puppet show!"

"Huh?"

"I'll be the puppeteer and you'll be my puppets!"

From his hand came glowing tendrils that went for the Wind Rangers, causing them to be dragged over to Choobo. Their Storm Striker aimed at the Thunders.

"No!" Aria cried

"I'm pullin' the strings here, now do what I do!"

The Winds were doing everything they could to resist Choobo's control, but they were struggling.

"No! I won't do it!" Shane said

"Choobo's going down!" Hunter said, surprising both his siblings as he rested the blaster on their shoulders.

Blake looked up and said, "Hunter, be careful, if you hit the rangers you could strip them of their powers"

"I don't have any choice bro!"

Choobo goaded him, "He's gotta point, right?" Shane's finger was millimeters away from pulling the trigger.

"Hunter, get over it! I can't fight it much longer!" Shane cried

"Ri, take it!" Hunter said as he handed her the blaster "You have the best aim out of all of us"

She took in her hands as her brothers got in position, she slowed her breathing and focused on her target.

"Can you do it?"

"No…I can't risk it" the youngest Bradley said as she threw down the blaster; causing it to fall apart.

"I knew you rangers didn't have it in you!" Choobo mocked "Three powerless Thunder Rangers, comin' up!"

Finally, Shane and the others were able to break Choobo's control long enough for them to stand up, cueing Aria to roll up grab her daggers, crossing them, and fire a ball of lightning at Choobo. "GET DOWN!" she threw up her arms and Blake jumped on her shoulder and launched a kick at Choobo.

The six regrouped again,

"Nice moves you guys!" Tori praised

"Yeah! Definitely smooth" Dustin agreed

"Good job Aria" Shane said

"No worries"

"Hello? I'm still working here!" Choobo shouted

"Let's do this again!"

"You got it Red!"

They each formed their blasters and shot at the evil space ninja general. But he was still standing even after he was blasted.

"You're kidding me right?" Aria complained

"Don't count me out yet, I still have one trick up my sleeve! This is the Scroll of Empowerment! Now you're really gonna get it!" he threw the scroll in the air and grew about 30 stories tall.

"Cam, its zord time!" Shane called

"They're on their way"

Soon, all six zords came into view and they leapt into action, each team forming their own megazords.

First, the Thunders tried to take on Choobo, but he seemed to be stronger than he appeared. Seconds after, the Winds shot at him with their blaster in hopes of distracting him. The two Reds came up with the idea to try and slash Choobo at the same time but he easily deflected their attacks by spinning around and hitting them with his staff. Every attack the rangers launched at Choobo had little to no effect on him, they were starting to get desperate. Finally, Cam came to their rescue and told them about the Minizord.

"THAT'S IT! Guys, remember that part I was telling you about? I've figured out what it does, check this out!" and he sent the power disks to the Reds

"Thanks Cam, by you mind letting us in on the big secret?" Shane asked

"The only way you're going to beat Choobo, is to combine your Megazords"

"Huh?"

"No way!"

"How Cam?" Blake, Tori, and Dustin all called out at the same time

"Call on the Minizord, he was part of the program all along!"

A realization hit Aria like a ton of bricks, "I've been trying to figure that part out! I spent weeks on it before giving up" she mentally scolded herself for that mistake.

Sensei spoke up through the com link, "It would be good to see the powers of wind and thunder working together"

"You guys up for this?" Shane cheered

The other rangers let out shouts of excitement and agreement

"LOCKED AND DROPPED!" the Reds called and out came two power spheres containing the two parts of Minizord.

"Aww how cute!" Tori and Aria gushed

"I am Minizord," it spoke "Storm Megazord, Thunder Megazord combine! Thunderstorm Megazord Transformation!

The Minizord once again broke apart, helping the two Megazords combine into a massive fighting force.

Once again Choobo attempted to attack the rangers but it did nothing but break his staff. He attacked again and no damage came to the Rangers. With one punch, Choobo was knocked to the ground and groaning in pain. Finally, using the Lion Blaster the rangers successfully defeated Choobo. Each ranger did a mini victory dance in their individual cockpits, glad that the battle for today was over.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

It was close to closing time and the Bradleys and Dustin were talking when Roger Hannah came in.

Aria stared in disbelief "Roger Hannah…"

"Wonder what he wants?" Blake wondered

Dustin spoke up "Probably wants to talk to you guys"

"Roger Hannah…" Aria repeated, pushing her hair out of her face

"Let's go find out what he wants" Hunter said, practically dragging Aria along.

Dustin watched as they went to talk to the moto champ with a tinge of jealousy.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

"I can't believe you guys said no!" Dustin said in disbelief "Factory Blue, that's nuts!"

"Well we have something more important to do" Aria said with the slightest smile on her face "We're in"

With cries of excitement and a bit of relief Cam and the Winds all exchanged hugs and high fives with the Thunders.

"You have made a difficult decision;" Sensei spoke from the table "I believe it is the right one"

"No lie!" Dustin agreed

"Finally have another girl on the team too!" Tori added

Shane finished with "You're one of us now" and with those words Aria's face brightened with a genuine smile; something she hadn't done in a very long time.

* * *

 **howlingblackwolf: I'll probably have her stay with the team because her character is very close to her brothers seeing as they are her only family, even if i DO have her leave she'd probably comeback within like two chapters. I am glad you like it so far though!**

(A/N: Review!)


	12. Chapter 11

_(Disclaimer: you know it...)_

 **Chapter 11: Boxing Bopp-a-Roo**

 **-Beach-**

Two streaks of red, one darker than the other, were seen at the beach. When the two ninjas landed it revealed to be Shane and Hunter in the middle of an intense sparring session. They were being watched by Sensei but were too absorbed into fight to even notice. Finally, Shane landed a hard kick into Hunter's stomach, causing him to stumble back a bit; Shane had a cocky grin on his face. The fight escalated quickly from that moment and ended with Hunter getting a sore wrist.

"Hey! I thought we were just sparring!" Hunter protested

"Hey, if you can't keep up, we'll get my sister over here"

"You're straight comedy Shane"

As they were about to start fighting again Sensei spoke up, "Enough" he knocked both ninjas to the ground. "We've talked about the Wind and Thunder ninjas working together as one. What have we said?"

"A competitive spirit is healthy-" Shane began but was interrupted by Hunter

"-as long as you don't sacrifice honor and friendship"

"Dude I was right in the middle of saying it!" Shane grumbled as he and Hunter stood up once again to begin fighting.

"Alright! Push-ups, drop." Sensei ordered. The two reds went down and started their push-ups before it quickly turned into another competition.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

"Banner looks great!" Tori praised, referring to the Total Trek banner Dustin put up. "If you had surfing, I would be all over this Total Trek"

"Oh, yeah that would be fair! You blowing everybody out of the water?" Dustin teased

"And the problem with that is?"

Aria called them over to her and Kelly, "Hey guys check this out!"

"We start at the skate park, run to the motocross track, and then urban climb to finish" Kelly explained "Aria and I came up with it together"

"You entering Dustin?" Aria asked

"Pfft! I'm never getting on another skateboard again, I got bruises from last year!"

"Aw poor baby" Aria teased with a mocking baby voice and a playful pout

Suddenly, Hunter and Shane walked into the shop.

"Hey! You got an entry form for my kick-flip challenged friend here?" Shane mocked

"Individual or are you guys joining the team competition?" Kelly asked

Hunter laughed "Us? Working together?"

"You got a better chance seeing me in blade skates"

"Just asking" Kelly surrendered "Well, you're the second one to sign up Hunter"

"Who was the first?"

Kelly raised an eyebrow as she looked at Shane

"You're toast dirt boy"

Hunter decided to retaliate "You here that? It sounds like your hopes and dream crashing down around you". He and Shane walked out

"And here we see two alpha males in their natural habitat" Aria said, causing the others to start laughing.

 **-Skate Park-**

Aria and Blake stood by as they watched their older brother attempt to ride a skateboard, attempt being the key word. The two winced as they watched Hunter fall off his board…again.

"So, what do you call that?" Aria remarked as they helped their brother up

"I'm just getting loose"

"Yeah, so is your board bro" Blake retorted

"I gotta beat this guy! I don't care what I have to do"

"Our advice to you," Aria said. she and Blake looked at each other before speaking at the same time "Get a stunt double."

Hunter rolled his eyes and rode off a again, only to land on his back after a few seconds.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

The other rangers were back at Ninja Ops, watching Shane and Hunter on Cam's laptop.

"Those guys are still at it!" Dustin said

"Let me get this straight," Aria began as she walked to sit with Blake, Tori, and Dustin "There's a kick-box robot kangaroo bouncing around Blue Bay Harbor and these fools are playing follow the leader?"

"Sensei we need help here, something Sensei like"

"They must both learn that the best quality of the a leader is to understand when to be a follower"

"Dude's way deep, especially for a rodent." He whispered to the three rangers next to him, causing a smile to come onto Aria's face

Moments later they got a call from Shane requesting for back up. They got in formation and morphed, Blake taking the lead.

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM!"

"THUNDERSTORM!"

"RANGER FORM!"

"HA!"

"Power of Water!"

"Power of Thunder!"

"Power of Earth!"

 **-Docks-**

They caught up with the Reds and stood in their fighting stances and started circling the kangaroo alien

"I'm one manically mad marsupial!"

"What did he say?"

"He's a crazy kangaroo" Aria explained right away. Tori just glanced at her through her helmet "What? Nerd girl, remember?"

Bopp-a-Roo called out to the rangers "A convenient, conflagatory, conflagration!" the wheel on it' stomach spun until it landed on an image of a burning house, prompting balls of fire to hit the rangers. All six of them hit their backs on a nearby wall.

"Bye-bye rumblified rangers! Exceptional positivity in our current commotioness! They are fully in the grasp of my fingerments!"

"Dude, just shut up!" Aria muttered while trying to stand up

"I've had enough of this!" Shane agreed as he and the other Winds formed their Storm Striker, the Thunders followed suit and formed the Thunder Blaster. They fired, only to have their attacks rebound off a force field and hit them instead.

"What happened?"

"It's some type of shield"

An annoying, screeching voice came from behind them "I did it! it worked, my shield worked! How cool am I?"

Kapri scoffed at her sister, "How lucky are you…"

"Oh great, the whole family's here" Tori said

"Let's do this!"

The four space freaks attacked the six ninjas; Tori and Dustin dealt with Zurgane, Shane fought Bopp-a-Roo, and the Bradleys battled Marah and Kapri.

"Bopp-a-Roo taught us some new holoborific tricks!" Marah exclaimed

"Let's raise the ruckus to a ratificated roosterment!" Kapri added

"Huh? Did you get any of that?" Blake asked

"I'm pretty sure only 8 of those words actually exist" Aria supplied

"Hey!" Marah called out again "Look deep into my eyes ranger boy!" as blasts came from her bug-like headpiece. Aria shot up into the air and landed behind Marah as Blake got hit, not having been able to dodge fast enough.

"Hey bug-brain, you seem to forget," Aria said as she pulled out her daggers, "I'm here too". She struck her daggers in the headpiece, sending bolts of lightning into it and destroying Marah's 'bug eyes'.

Hunter was now fighting Kapri who kept weaving out of Hunter's attacks and managed to knock him on his butt, seeing this Aria sent a blast to the Pink and Black space ninja.

"Never really liked pink anyway" she said with a grin and went to help her brothers. However, when she helped Hunter back up he was blasted again and ended up rolling to Shane. Aria was preoccupied fighting with Kapri to help, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Hunter transferring power to Shane to defeat Bopp-a-Roo. With the combined powers of Shane and Hunter, Bopp-a-Roo was finally weakened.

The two teams combined their weapons into their specific blasters once again and were about to fire before Kapri put up a shield around them.

"That looks pretty strong!" Tori exclaimed

"What now?"

Aria got an idea, "Combine all of our weapons! The power from that should be enough to break the shield and defeat Bopp-a-Roo!"

So they did just that, forming the Thunderstorm Cannon. Zurgane, Marah, and Kapri ran off as soon as they saw the cannon and left Bopp-a-Roo by himself. The rangers fired and overpowered Bopp-a-Roo.

But as usual, the alien grew 30 stories and the rangers had to call on their zords. They formed their megazords and used their serpent zords as their first attack only to use the Minizord to combine both teams. Within minutes Bopp-a-Roo was down for the count…for good

 **-Total Trek-**

The rangers went out and supported Shane and Hunter and their new found teamwork at the Total Trek competition. First Shane skateboarded, then Hunter did moto, then both of them ran and did the urban climb, making them finish together.

 **-Storm Charger-**

Kelly announced Shane and Hunter as the winners of the 2003 Total Trek Competition and handed them a trophy.

"Not bad you two" Aria praised, coming in between them

"Hey, we try to learnify with great knowledgness!" Shane said

Aria just closed her eyes and shook her head, "And you lost me…"

Hunter and Shane just laughed and did the awkward handshake-or-hug situation before deciding on a high-five that turned into an arm wrestling contest.

"At least it's a start" Tori said as she and the others burst out laughing.


	13. Chapter 12

_(Disclaimer: is this even necessary now?)_

 **Chapter 12: Pork Chopped**

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Aria walked into Ninja Ops and saw Shane handing Dustin a cord and having him crawl under the table and the blues sparring.

"Oh, this is so brutal" Dustin panted

"I heard that"

"Problem gentlemen?" Sensei asked from his little habitat

They just shook their heads and kept working. After Dustin came back from under the table Shane grabbed his arm and literally dragged him to their Sensei, causing a laugh to come from Aria as she walked over to the yellow and red rangers

"Those who fail to install cable in time for science-fiction marathon, will feel the wrath of the unhappy guinea pig"

"Sensei, no disrespect but I'm pretty sure there was nothing about cable T.V in any-" Dustin began

Aria stopped him before he could continue "Dude…he was joking" she said as she put both hands on his shoulders and a small smile

"Ohhh!"

Aria playfully rolled her eyes and walked over to Sensei to check out his mini T.V

"Isn't this low tech? I mean Cam's got like a thousand channels on that thing" Dustin asked referring to the super computer.

Cam came up behind him "How many times have I been over this? Satellite surveillance system is not a home theater."

Aria turned to watch Tori and her brother spar and flirt with each other; it was quite entertaining to watch. Tori knocked Blake down and got his hand stuck in a bunch of cords that connected to Sensei's T.V and pulled, causing the mini T.V to go black and smoke.

"Well, that worked out well…" Aria said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow to Tori and Blake.

"Oh, sorry dude, here maybe I can help!" Blake tried to apologize, but Cam slapped his hand away and said he would fix it alone. Shane, Dustin, Blake, and Aria put up their hands in surrender and walked away.

"So…you guys wanna head to the skate park? I gotta practice for my demo" Shane asked

"Actually I was just gonna give Blake a ride to meet Hunter" Tori said

"Well you're still gonna come tomorrow right? 3 o'clock?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't miss it!"

From behind them Aria looked at Dustin and made a whipping noise while directing at Blake and Tori. They laughed, slung their arms around each other, and walked out together.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Aria and Hunter snuck up behind Blake who was talking to Kelly; Hunter had just bought tickets to see a kung-fu movie with Blake. They had a tradition to go have a 'bro-day' and just chill. This was a double win for the Bradleys, the boys did whatever they wanted for a day and Aria got a break from her big brothers.

"Oh no way!" Blake said as he saw the movie tickets "Haha you got them!"

Tori pulled up on a bike, "What are those?"

"Tickets to the martial-arts film festival, they're showing Fists of Fire 2" Hunter informed

"Huh, hoping to pick up a few pointers"

Hunter sent her a mock glare while Aria tried to hide her amusement.

"H-hey, listen um, what are you gonna be doin' wanna come?" Blake said

At that Aria and Hunter's head shot up, did he just invite her to 'bro-day'?

Aria looked up at Hunter and said, "Hey dude you okay? I know this was meant for you two to hang out."

"Yeah its fine, guess I'm third wheelin' then…Unless-" he said hopefully

"Sorry dude no can do"

"Why?" he whined

"'Cause I'm still your little sister and I'm meant to make your life miserable" she said as she stuck her tongue and flipped her brother off. His face fell and he walked over to Blake.

"Great…" he mumbled

She and Kelly then walked up to Tori "So you're not going to the skate demo?" Aria hinted

"The demo's tomorrow?" Tori groaned

"Don't tell me you forgot!" Kelly said

"Dude, Shane's been talking about it all week!" Aria added

"I don't believe this" Tori scolded herself the three went their separate ways, not noticing Marah and Kapri standing near them.

 **-Skate Demo-**

Aria walked up to Shane, Dustin, and Tori wearing an oversized black t-shirt that hung off one shoulder, tucked into dark denim shorts, ripped black tights, and her trusty converse; her hair parted on the side. Shane was up to go next, "Hey dude sorry I'm late"

"It's cool, thanks for comin"

"You gonna go for a 180 fakey to backside railslide?" Dustin asked

"I might…" he was clearly nervous "I never landed one" he pointed out

"Now's a good time as any" Aria suggested "You can do it dude, right Tor?" she asked trying to get the blonde's attention "hey Tori"

"Hmm? Yeah! Slide that fake rail"

Shane asked with concern, "Hey you okay? You don't seem like yourself"

"He's right, maybe it's the whole clone thing again with the camera-" Dustin whispered

"You guys! I'm fine! Now go make me proud Shane"

With a whoop of excitement Shane took off.

Dustin and Aria cheered their friend on, not noticing Tori running off. They continued watching Shane's demo and cringed when they saw him fly off his board and onto his back. From behind them Tori cheered, "Way to go Shane that was awesome!"

They turned and looked at her with confusion "He just ate it big time" Dustin pointed out as Shane walked back up to his friends

"Oh right, well uh, better luck next time"

"I almost had it!" Shane cried out

"You look thirsty, how about a drink? Be right back!" and Tori ran off once again. They followed her just as she streaked off

"Did I miss a class about using ninja powers in public?" Dustin said

"I guess we all did" Shane agreed just as Marah and a group of Kelzaks appeared

"Yoohoo! Over here!" Marah called out "I always forget how cute they are! Oh, you're here too" she said when she saw Aria. Aria just glared at the space ninja and waited for them to come to her. "Hello? Attack" Marah commanded.

The three each had their own group to deal with, Shane relied on his skills in hand-to-hand combat, Dustin, being the Earth Ninja he was, used his surroundings to fight them off, and Aria used her flexibility and kicks to battle the Kelzaks. At one point Dustin and Aria even used each other to fight them off, Aria rolled on Dustin's back and kicked the last few Kelzaks in the chest. They soon defeated the faceless minions and watched them and Marah disappear.

 **-Movie Theater-**

Blake and Hunter were watching the movie and waiting for Tori to return. Blake, as usual, was hogging the popcorn

"Dude, are you gonna eat the whole thing yourself?"

"Thinkin' about it"

They both reached in at the same time only to be sucked into the tub. At that moment, Tori walked in looking for them.

"Hey, guys. Hello?"

From the bucket Blake shouted "Tori! We're down here!"

Hunter followed suit "Don't eat the popcorn!"

Tori couldn't believe what was happening when everyone in the theater suddenly stood up to reveal themselves Kelzaks and Lothor's newest alien General Trayf. She grabbed the popcorn bucket and tried to fight her way out of the theater. Unfortunately she was too outnumbered and the bucket was stolen from her and with a flash, she was left alone.

"NO! BLAKE! HUNTER!"

 **-In the Bucket-**

Blake and Hunter were trying to figure out what happened and what they were covered in. in an attempt to get themselves out they tried to morph, only find that their morphers were busted.

"That's not good…" Blake said

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Tori had just told the others what happened to Blake and Hunter and was currently receiving a lecture by Sensei. In the back Aria was pacing, one hand running through her hair and the other fiddling with her necklace.

"Tori," Sensei said "Using your ninja powers for personal gain is a very serious infraction of the Ninja Code. Not to mention that you let your friends down"

Upon seeing Aria practically wear a hole in the floor, Dustin went to the scared girl, gently grabbed her, and hugged her. No words needed to be said between the two, Aria just felt better with him.

"Shane I am so sorry, if I had stayed at the demo none of this would've happened."

"Or you may have been captured too. We cannot predict the future that is why we have rules to govern the present."

"Yes Sensei"

"Cam, do you have a reading on this creature's whereabouts?"

"I found a major hot spot on the Major Office Tower"

The four got in formation with Tori taking the lead

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM!"

"THUNDERSTORM!"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Power of Thunder!"

"Power of Earth!"

"Water!"

"Air!"

 **-Major Office Tower-**

The Winds used their gliders to get to the building, shouting cheers of excitement while Aria had to use her Tsunami cycle and streak to the top. As she was riding she said to herself, "Why didn't we get gliders?" By the time she was able to reach the building the Winds had just started their battle.

"Come on Rangers! Come and get me!" General Trayf taunted

"Oh great! Another alternate dimension?" Aria complained

"We gotta go after him!" Tori shouted

"What? Through that thing?" Dustin questioned in disbelief

"Come on!" Shane led just as Cam stopped them

"Wait! Slow down, I've gotta a lock on the portal door but it won't hold for more than 10 minutes max." the techie warned

"We'll call you if we need help"

"You're on your own; I'll have no way to contact you while you're inside"

"Then we'll have to work fast"

 **-Alt. Dimension-**

With that, the rangers jumped into the portal and landed in…surprise surprise another rock quarry much to Shane's dismay.

 **-In the Bucket-**

Blake and Hunter were trying to climb out the bucket, only for their human ladder to collapse

"Ugh it's no use!" Hunter complained

"You know what the worst part of it is…it's not even butter! We're gonna be destroyed by, ARTIFICIAL FLAVORING!" Blake cried with borderline insanity as he fell down again.

However, by falling he noticed the unpopped kernels at the bottom of the bucket and his eyes lit up with joy.

"Wait a minute,"

"Is that what I think it is?"

"The unpopped kernels at the bottom of the bucket, maybe we can pop ourselves outta here"

"Huh, if the blast doesn't bake us first"

"You got another suggestion?"

Hunter just shook his head no as they focused all their power to heat the bucket.

"It's getting hot in here!" Blake warned

"Keep going its working"

"Where's Ari when you need her?"

 **-Alt. Dimension-**

The fight was on between the rangers and the pig, the Winds and Aria used their basic weapons to try and weaken the General, Aria occasionally sending a stream of lightning at her opponent. The pig was a tough adversary though; he put up a good fight. But Shane was able to knock him down long enough to form the Storm Striker; being the odd one out Aria summoned her daggers and formed a ball of lightning and sent it hurtling to General Trayf just as the Winds fired their weapon. After defeating Trayf a portal opened above them and they were sucked out of the alternate dimension.

 **-Major Office Tower-**

The four rangers landed back on top of the building and opened their visors. Seconds after they returned Blake and Hunter fell from the sky covered in popcorn.

"Blake! Hunter!" Aria cried and was about to give them a hug when she realized what they were covered in "Um…what is that?"

"Artificial butter flavoring" Hunter explained

Just then a giant General Trayf appeared along with Marah, Kapri, and a group of Kelzaks

Hunter stepped up to Shane, "Shane, you get the zords; we'll keep these wannabes busy"

"You got it"

The two trios split up and started their fights. Hunter used the butter on his back to cause the Kelzaks to slip and slide everywhere, Blake flicked the butter into the Kelzaks faces, blinding them (A/N: which kinda makes no sense because they have no face but wth) and finally Aria was using her daggers to slash at the Kelzaks before throwing them at Marah and Kapri, the daggers landed just outside of both girls causing them to laugh.

"O-M-G I can aim better than that!" Marah laughed

"I know right! You're so lame!" Kapri agreed

Aria just smirked behind her visor, "I never miss" suddenly her daggers were engulfed in black lightning and ended up shocking the two sisters before they ran away (A/N: think of that scene in Cap. America Civil War when Hawkeye was able to stop Vision for a while). They watched as their friends defeated the pig once and for all and went back home.

(A/N: Reviews appreciated! how do you guys feel about Dustin and Aria?)

* * *

 _ **HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!  
**_


	14. Chapter 13

_(Disclaimer: PRNS aint mine, Aria Bradley is my own character)_

 **Chapter 13: The Samurai's Journey part I**

 **-Ninja Ops-**

The six rangers all stood around Sensei and exchanged glances with each other. Hunter was the first one to speak up "No way dude, there's no way he does it"

"I don't know dude, he is pretty strong for a little guy!" Dustin defended

Shane shushed them both "Be quiet, a little respect for the master!"

Aria pretended to cough when she said "Kiss ass" causing the others to try and control their laughter

Sensei spoke up from the stone slab on the ground, "Now watch closely rangers" he said as they all leaned in "HYAH!" their teacher cried as he easily broke it in two. The teens all gasped and cheered at the guinea pig; Tori looked to Hunter.

"You were saying?"

"I stand corrected, but how?"

"The power comes not from the body, but from the mind" Aria recited

"Correct Aria" Sensei praised

"Alright, I'm up"

Aria looked at her brother again with a raised eyebrow, "You sure you wanna go there bro?"

"Look, if he can do it, I'm gonna give it my best shot" Hunter said hesitantly

Shane laid the stone slab out for him and the others waited as Hunter prepared himself. He slammed his hand down and groaned in pain as the Winds, mostly Shane, laughed at him. Aria sent him a glare and he stopped laughing.

"Looks like rodent 1, Thunder Ranger zip" he mocked

"You think you can do it?" Hunter asked cradling his hand

Shane just walked up to the slab cockily and slammed his hand down as well; screaming in pain doing so. Next was Tori who only hurt her hand as well. Then it was Blake's turn who tried, literally, using his head which caused him to fall backwards. Finally, Dustin went up and attempted to break it, he too ended up hurting himself. They all looked to Aria who just shook her head.

"Unlike you guys, I know I can't even attempt to break that thing."

The rangers gathered near Sensei once again "You have come far in your training, but you still have a long way to go"

"Yeah, but you're like a full on like super ninja master" Dustin said

From behind them they heard a battle cry and the sound of stone breaking. The guys stood there in disbelief but the girls were impressed and amazed to see Cam kneeling over the broken slab.

"Dude that was sick!" Aria applauded as she ran over to Cam and gave him a slap on the back

Shane however, decided to say this stupid thing "Alright, how did you do that? Oh, you used some sort of laser beam thing right?"

"Or he switched the bricks, I saw that on a stunt show once" Dustin added

Aria rolled her eyes and picked up one half of the brick and tossed it to Dustin.

"Okay maybe not…"

"It's gotta be a trick!"

"You still don't get it do you?" Cam said with hurt and frustration

"Get what?"

"Just because someone isn't a ranger it doesn't make them completely useless. I need some air" cam finished as he walked out, closely followed by Tori. Aria walked back to the boys and slapped each of them up side their heads, muttering something along the lines of "fucking brainless idiots" before following them.

 **-Lake-**

Aria and Tori found Cam skipping rocks at the lake not to far from Ninja Ops and stood on either side of him.

"You alright?" Tori asked

"Yeah, just tired of the lack of respect"

Aria turned to Cam "Who said you don't get any respect?"

Tori added on "Cam, everything we're able to do is because of what you're able to do!"

"It's not enough! I wanna be part of it!"

"You wanna be a ranger" Aria concluded softly "Go talk to Sensei"

"I have," he sighed "He's forbidden me"

"Forbidden you? Why?" Tori wondered

"He made a promise to my mother…"

"Cam, your father just wants what's best for you"

"I know that…"

"You gotta tell him how you feel" Aria advised "Make him understand how important this means to you"

"He's the most reasonable, well, guinea pig I've ever met. Go talk to him"

"Okay, but if he doesn't listen, I'm not cleaning his cage for a month!" Cam joked as the three laughed and turned to walk back to Ops before a blast erupted from the water.

"We hate to break up this greeting card moment," Kapri said

"But we're like here to destroy you!" Marah finished

"ATTACK!"

Madtropolis sent a blast towards the three, causing them to be thrown back. When they got up they went into their fighting stances just as the four guys streaked over.

Upon seeing the monster Dustin spoke up "I've heard of cities coming alive but this is ridiculous!"

"Everyone's a comedian, you gonna morph or do I have to beg?" Metropolis asked

"You got it!" Shane said

Realizing something wasn't right Aria tried to stop them but she was too late. The five of them were morphed and were now in extreme danger.

Lothor's goons attacked, mainly focusing on the morphed rangers. Hunter, seeing Cam told him to run, who stubbornly refused and fought on. Next his eyes fell on Aria, "RI! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?" he yelled at her. Kelzaks surrounded Aria and Cam just as Madtropolis did what Aria feared what would happen.

"Time for the drain event!"

"NOOOO!"

The five of them fell, pale, exhausted, and drained of their ranger powers.

"You're next black ranger" the alien said as he and the Kelzaks disappeared. Aria and Cam shot up and raced to the fallen rangers.

"Are you guys okay?" Cam asked as he and Aria helped their friends up

"We gotta get them back to Ops" Aria said as she led her team back

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Aria was scanning her teammates while Cam manned the computer to figure out what happened to them. She was scanning Shane when he started talking "Man that guy worked us, what happened out there?"

"Madtropolis drained you ranger energy force, if you guys go out there again there's a chance you won't come back" she explained

"Dude, that's harsh…"Dustin groaned

"This is grave news; we must find a way to get back your ranger powers" Sensei aid

"Look there he is!" Tori said pointing to the screen

"Alright it's go time!" Shane said weakly as he tried to stand up, but Aria pushed him back down.

"You can barely stand Shane!"

He stood up again, "I'm not gonna sit here while that freak is loose!" the other rangers followed his lead

Giving up on trying stopping them Aria offered this. "Fine, at least let us program your morphers to give you a bit of energy. It won't last long though, so I'm coming with you."

Blake and Hunter were about to protest but she shot them down. "Look, Madtropolis said he would be coming for my ranger powers, I can lure him out and we'll attack. I won't morph unless I really need to."

"But Aria,-"

"End of discussion you two"

Cam and Aria finished reprogramming their morphers allowing them to morph and tracked down Madtropolis who was trying to blow up the sphere containing the rangers' powers.

 **-Abandoned Building-**

Shane streaked past Madtropolis and snatched the sphere, extinguishing the fuse attached to it. 5 out of 6 were morphed, leaving Aria in only her ninja uniform.

"Sorry, but we're here to snuff out your plan!" Shane shouted

"Hey that's mine! I stole it from you fair and square!" Madtropolis yelled as he blasted them.

They all rolled away and Shane leaped over the alien, running away with the sphere. Madtropolis continued attacking as Shane ran until he turned and fired his Hawk Blaster at him. To his surprise Madtropolis just vanished before his eyes. As he looked around in confusion, Madtropolis snuck up behind the red ranger and slashed him across the back, causing him to fall on the ground. With a warning from Cam about conserving energy, Shane stood back up and prepared to face Madtropolis again. At that moment the alien sent him to an alternate dimension.

 **-Alt. Dimension-**

"Aw man, I gotta bad feeling about this!"

Madtropolis came running towards Shane so he grabbed his Ninja Sword and struck him three times; to his surprise however it was Blake and Hunter whom he had attacked.

"Oh no! I thought I was fighting Madtropolis!"

"So did we…" the brothers groaned as Shane helped them up "This place is totally crazy"

Next thing they know Aria appeared in front of them, her hand cackling with lightning as she prepared to attack. "WHERE ARE MY FRIENDS!" she demanded as she sent the lightning to Shane and her brothers, causing their suits to spark up. When the smoke cleared she realized that Madtropolis had tricked her as well and ran towards them

"Oh my god you guys I thought you were Madtropolis!"

"We're fine Ri" Hunter reassured

"Have you seen Tori and Dustin?" Shane asked

Just then the two remaining rangers appeared with their swords pointed at the four.

"You're toast Madtropolis!" Dustin shouted as he fired at them.

"Dustin! Tori! It's us stop!" Aria tried

"What are you doing?" Shane added as Dustin and Tori proceeded to attack them.

Being un-morphed left Aria at a great disadvantage, she couldn't take direct hits without seriously hurting herself. She used her lightning to create a shield similar to her Thunder Shield to protect her, it wasn't nearly as powerful but it would do for now. Dustin tried to attack her but she caught his arm before he could hit her.

"Dustin, it's me Aria, come on dude snap out of it!"

This proved to be ineffective as he broke out of her hold and attacked again, this time being intercepted by Hunter who threw him to the ground.

In the blue and yellow rangers' eyes, four Madtropolises stood before them before turning into the other four rangers

"What the hell?! Did you see that?" Dustin asked Tori

"I think I saw it…but I don't know what I saw" Tori yelled in a mix of confusion and frustration.

The real Madtropolis appeared in front of them

"What's the matter rangers? Can't tell what's real and what's not?"

They regrouped and stood ready to fight

"I've had enough of your mind games!" Shane yelled at the alien

"Fine, I'm just getting started! Come on!"

"Aw man!" Shane grumbled as he ran up to where Madtropolis stood seconds before. He slowly turned around and saw all of his friends turn into Madtropolis. Suddenly, one of the Madtropolises slashed Shane across his chest. "This has gotta be him!" she drew his sword at attacked, only to reveal Aria. "NO! ARI!" he stared in disbelief as she crumpled to the ground. He stared in horror when he realized what he had done. He didn't know what to do anymore, but with guidance from his sensei he was able to get the real Madtropolis and free the six from the alternate dimension.

When they returned Aria was still lying on the ground unconscious.

"ARIA!" Blake and Hunter cried when they saw their little sister. They ran up to her and looked down in horror, her normally tan face was losing color and they could see red on her uniform. Turning around Dustin saw her on the ground, "RI!" They were all about to kneel down beside her just as they felt their power draining. The 5 remaining rangers crumpled to the ground when a giant head of Madtropolis appeared above them and shot down bolts of power. Dustin shielded his teammate and crumpled to the ground again along with the others.

The walking city showed up once again as he demanded the sphere. Shane obviously denied him and told the others to form the Thunderstorm Canon.

"What about Ri? We need her daggers don't we?" Tori asked

"We can do it without her; we just need to get her out of here!" Hunter commanded

They fired the canon and blew Madtropolis up. Shane immediately contacted Ninja Ops and told Cam to get Aria out of there.

"Cam, is there any way you can get Ri back to Ops?"

"I've been working on a teleportation system, it should be able to bring her back here"

"Ok, but hurry!" Hunter begged.

Few short minutes later Cam was able to figure out how to teleport Aria back to Ops. The rangers stood around her trying to stop the bleeding as much as possible before getting a call from Cam again.

"Go for Shane"

"Ok, I managed to get the teleportation system to go online. Stand back"

The others stepped back and watched as Aria disappeared in flash of bright white light.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Aria appeared in the middle of Ninja Ops as Cam caught her before she hit the ground. A spare room was already prepared with everything Sensei and Cam needed to help that fallen ranger. The colour in her face completely drained and her breathing was shallow.

"Is she going to be alright?" Cam asked his father as he started to unzip the jacket of her ninja uniform.

"I believe so Cam" he reassured as he started to check her wounds "Aria is a strong young woman"

Suddenly Cam heard the com-link from the computer go off

"Go, I will take care of her. You help the rangers"

As Cam left Sensei looked back to Aria, wondering what he should do to help her. 'I wonder…'

Sensei leapt off the bed and managed close the small window in the room, leaving them in the dark. With intense concentration, Sensei focused on the light magic he had inside of him. All ninjas had some magic in them which allows them to harness their elements. He sent a small piece of that light magic to Aria and waited to see if his hypothesis was right.

Suddenly, Aria started emitting a glowing, black aura around her; unlike the time in Portico Island this aura just seemed softer than the rage fueled power she unleashed all those months ago. Sensei observed from the window how the slash across her chest slowly faded away and only left a faint scar, the colour started to come back to her face but she was still exhausted from battle.

'The prophecy is coming true…' he thought to himself. He opened the window a little to let some light in and left Aria to rest and headed out just to see the rangers being ejected from their megazords and the sphere containing their powers on the table.

 **-Open Field-**

The five rangers landed on the ground de-morphed, they barely had enough strength to stand up again. They struggled to get up and prepared to face whatever Madtropolis had for them. What they didn't expect was for time to stop and then being transported back to Ops.

To Be Continued…

(A/N: dun dun DDDDUUUUUUNNNNNN)


	15. Chapter 14

_(Disclaimer: Ninja Storm isnt mine, the black ranger is.)_

(A/N: these chapters are short b/c they are mainly Cam centered in the show)

 **Chapter 14: A Samurai's Journey part II**

 **-Ninja Ops-**

The five ninjas landed back in ops with looks of confusion and worry on their faces. They all sat around wondering what was going on and what happened with Cam and Aria.

"Where is Cam? And Ari?" Tori groaned

"He has embarked on a journey that could very well determine the fate of the world as we know it. Aria is now resting, her wounds have healed but she is still weak from battle."

Upon hearing that their sister and friend was fine the rangers relaxed a little, however they were still worried about Cam.

 **-A Couple of Hours Later-**

Aria woke up with a headache and sore chest, 'Ugh what happened?' she looked down and only saw a faint scar on her chest just beneath where her necklace rested 'Ok, I know I got hit there…'. Shakily, Aria got up from the bed and slowly made her way through the door, she was only in half of her Ninja Uniform, her jacket and gloves were hanging by the door, leaving her in the bottom half of the uniform and a dark purple tank top. She walked out and inched her way to the main area of Ops.

"What happened?" she asked in a slightly husky voice

"Oh my god Ri! You're awake!" Tori said in surprise

"Yeah, now what happened?"

"Are you okay?" her brothers asked at the same time

"Peachy, now what happened?" starting to get a bit irked

"Dude, I'm so sorry, I should've known you weren't Madtropolis"

"It's cool, now what happened?!" she finally shouted in annoyance

"Come sit here Aria, I was just about to tell the others what Cam is doing." Sensei said

"Thank you Sensei."

"Cam has gone back in time to get help. But if he has not returned before time resumes I fear there will be nothing to prevent Madtropolis from destroying our planet"

Tori looked up to the ceiling and muttered silently "Come on Cam, we need you"

"What about me?" I still have my powers, I could stall Madtropolis long enough for Cam to get back" Aria pointed out

"Uh, no" Hunter said

"Why? I can still help!"

"You're hurt, you could get killed out there!"

With a roll of her eyes she looked back to Hunter "Look, the only reason why I wasn't morphed was because Madtropolis still had the sphere and if you couldn't tell the sphere is right behind you"

"But-"

"Don't even try bro, I'm going out there"

At that moment the five weakened rangers started to fade from view

"Sensei?" Tori asked with worry

"What's happening?" Aria added

"Time is resuming it's true course, you will return to where you were when time stopped" the guinea pig explained as the rangers disappeared.

"I'm going with them Sensei" Aria warned

"Go help your friends"

She smiled at the rodent and streaked off to the open field to meet with her friends

 **-Open Field-**

When she got to her friends she saw the giant Madtropolis standing above her, "Oh shit…"

All of a sudden they heard a whirring in the distance and saw a brand new green zord in the shape of a helicopter. A voice was heard from inside, "Hello Power Rangers! Looks like you could use a little help!"

A small smile crept onto Aria's face 'No….effing….way'

"Green Samurai Ranger at your service!"

The six rangers watched in awe as the new ranger fought Madtropolis with ease. They were even more surprised when he formed the Samurai Star Megazord. They cheered as they watched him take down Madtropolis.

After ejecting Cam stood before his friends and waited for their reactions, he knew, based off her Cheshire Cat grin; that Aria knew, but the others were a bit slow.

"Is it just me or is there a guy in green ranger gear over there?" Dustin asked

"Nah dude, I see him too" Shane reassured

"Yeah, you guys never said anything about a green one," Blake complained

"Yeah, way to hold out on us" Hunter finished

"Hey, it's new to us too"

"Or maybe we're all hallucinating" Dustin offered

"You're not hallucinating Dustin" Cam said with a smile behind his helmet

"How do you know my name?!"

Aria rolled her eyes again and looked at Dustin, "Why wouldn't he know your name?"

Cam then de-morphed and smiled at his friends and now teammates.

To Be Continued…


	16. Chapter 15

_(Disclaimer: i think it should be obvious by now...)_

 **Chapter 15: A Samurai's Journey part III**

The other rangers stared in awe as Cam ran forwards to help his friends. "Right now we gotta get back to Ninja Ops, come on!" he commanded as he and Aria helped their friends walk. "Come on!" Cam urged as he saw Dustin staying where he was

"No, I think I'll just wait here for a cab or a bus I'm worked" He groaned

"RUN FOOL!" the 7 rangers heard Lothor say as he appeared above them.

Aria ran back to Dustin and pulled on his arm, "Get your ass moving dude" she said

They were all stumbling away from Lothor, Cam and Aria were trying as hard as they could to get them moving faster but it only did so much.

"He clearly didn't get enough love as a child" Blake mumbled

Suddenly, the two unforgettable high-pitched voices belonging to Marah and Kapri rang through their ears, "Oh Rangers!" they taunted

They started their attacks, Lothor firing blasts from behind them and Marah and Kapri doing the same on the sides. The blasts were barely missing them; all they could see was smoke and the occasional burst of light.

The attacks were too much, Blake and Shane fell forward causing the group to stop and help them and Kelzaks appeared out of nowhere. Aria summoned her lightning and stood guard while the others helped their Red and Navy rangers up. Soon they saw no point in running; they were completely surrounded and prepared to fight.

"What's the matter nephew?" Lothor taunted, "Don't like reunions?"

"Whoa, did he just say nephew?" Aria asked Cam

"You can't choose your family Lothor!" the new green ranger said ignoring Aria's question "I certainly didn't choose you!"

"Pity, there's always a place for someone like you in my evil empire. You too Black Ranger"

"Kiss my ass Lothor!" Aria shouted at the floating space ninja

"You must be joking!" Cam added

"We'll see who has the last laugh rangers!" He said as he and his nieces prepared to fire.

However, a flash of bright white light appeared around the seven rangers, teleporting them back to Ninja Ops.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

All seven rangers landed on a heap on the floor of Ninja Ops, "Ow, you wanna give us a warning before you do that?" Hunter complained

"Give us a chance to work on our landing" Tori added

"Your appreciation is noted" Sensei said

"Sorry Sensei," Shane apologized "It's just, if we had our powers I know we could've taken him!"

"Then perhaps it is time you got them back. The sphere holds the power of five rangers, only a greater power can open it"

"How 'bout seven rangers?" Dustin suggested

"I think Dustin's right" Cam said impressed

"You have your moments don't you?" Aria said teasingly and somewhat flirtatiously

All of them placed their hands over the sphere and watched as it glowed brightly. Seconds later, the sphere burst open, releasing the rangers' powers. The five of them stood up excitedly and started doing punches and kicks; hyped from the sudden energy boost they had. Cam and Aria stood by watching their friends with grins on their faces.

"Just one question though Cam," Tori said as Cam and Aria walked up to their friends "Wha – how did all of this happen?"

This caused a burst of questions from the others, causing Aria to laugh at Cam's misfortune.

After regaling his time travel story Shane decided to point out the elephant in the room, "Damn dude, let's talk about Uncle Lothor, that's crazy bro!"

"I know right? Some family tree I have" Cam said with disdain

"Cam, Lothor is no relation of ours" Sensei said

Turning around to his father Cam said "How can you say that?"

"By law once a ninja is banished they cease to exist. The one I knew as my brother I a mere memory."

"But don't you think I had a right to know?"

"Yeah, we all did!" Hunter cut in; he then received a smack upside his head from Aria with a glare that said 'Just shut up'

"Perhaps, but what would it have changed? Would you have battled him any differently?"

The rangers remained silent as the computer beeped, signaling trouble.

"Speaking of battling" Aria mumbled

"Whoa dude, they're all over the place" Shane said in disbelief as five different aliens showed up all over Blue Bay

"Rangers go! Cam you will remain here to monitor for additional attacks." Sensei gave his orders and the rangers followed.

Aria draped her arm around Cam's shoulders and had a grin on her face, "See you out there". She then walked over to the guys and waited for Tori.

"Green always did look good on you" Tori said with a smile, she then went over to the others.

 **-Blue Bay Harbor-**

The rangers morphed and streaked to the various spots the different aliens were located. Shane was near the abandoned buildings fighting a strange bug looking monster (A/N: I don't even know tbh). Blake was at the beach dealing with a bronze octopus alien while Aria was with Tori fighting an overgrown aardvark (A/N: I just now realized how random these aliens were) and Hunter was fighting a stingray (A/N: I think it's a stingray…idek) down in the city. Dustin was nearby fighting his own alien.

The rangers weren.t used to being separated, sure the two trios, Thunders and Winds, have split up before but they still had their original teams to back them up. Their battles took longer than usual but eventually defeated their respective monsters, or so they thought. Seconds later all the monsters 'un-blew up', as Dustin put it, and the rangers were told to retreat back to Ninja Ops.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

When they reached Ops they immediately saw Cam with sores all over his body.

"Dude, that's nasty!" Hunter said

"Dude…what happened?" Aria said with concern, he was starting to sweat and twitch.

"I got a little close to that overgrown sucker"

"Just a little…"

The computer beeped again showing Staardvark, the monster Aria and Tori fought, at 30 stories tall.

"We'll get the zords" Shane offered

"Thunder Rangers?" Sensei asked "Can you get the others?"

"With pleasure" Hunter agreed with a smirk

"What about me?" Cam complained; long hairs were now starting to grow from his fingers

"Uh Cam, What's that?" Tori asked, Aria just stared with a look of slight horror on her face

"Uh….I have no idea"

"Rangers, go, I will investigates Cam's condition."

"Do you need any help?" Aria offered

"It is quite alright Aria; you must help your brothers."

With an affirmative nod the six rangers walked out of Ninja Ops.

 **-Beach-**

First the Thunders went to the beach and fought the alien Blake was dealing with earlier; with their Thunder Staffs out they attacked. Blake got trapped in one of its tentacles almost right away, Aria and Hunter ran up and slashed said tentacle, freeing Blake and causing the octopus to trap himself.

"Thanks guys!"

"No problem bro."

The trio then rand and took turns slashing the monster across its chest and knocking it down.

"Thunders, you okay?" Cam asked over the com-link

"Oh yeah!" they said at the same time.

They started another attack; first Hunter went up and slashed the alien, Blake followed by rolling across his brother's back followed Hunters example, and finally Aria flipped up, used Blake's shoulders as a boost and stabbed her Thunder Staff in the alien. The three finally destroyed the monster after their final strike and headed off to the two other monsters in the city.

The Thunders charged at the two monsters Shane and Dustin were fighting earlier; Blake and Aria were using the Tornado Star mode of their Thunder Staffs while Hunter was basically using a hula hoop to fight the other. The three of them were getting tired; one battle after another was exhausting. They soon relied on their secondary weapons and continued their attacks. The Bradleys then combined their three weapons to form their Thunder Blaster and fired at the two fallen aliens.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Aria ran in with a Wind Ninja Uniform lined in green and handed it to Shane who was sitting in front of the computer. They were planning on surprising their newest team member.

"Shh, he's coming!" Tori warned as they surrounded Shane, blocking him from view.

Cam walked in with his Samurai Saber and started updating the rangers on his latest upgrade, "Hey guys! I linked my Samurai Saber directly to the Ninja Ops mainframe; I should be able to continue my strategic duties in the field."

The others just looked at him with big grins on their faces

"What? What are you all smiling about?"

They all stepped aside allowing Shane to present Cam with his new Ninja Uniform. Cam looked both shocked and ecstatic while the rangers laughed at his expression.

"Where did that-?" he began

"You gonna be a part of the team, you gotta have the gear." Shane said with a smile as he handed the uniform to Cam.

"It takes a powerful man to choose his own destiny. Congratulations, no father could be prouder of his son" Sensei spoke from his little habitat.

The others crowded around him, congratulating him and giving him slaps on the back. Tori and Aria stood on either side of him and both planted a quick peck on the cheek as congratulations. Blake and Dustin both slightly tensed seeing this but continued with the celebrations anyway.

(A/N: Short chapter i know, but the past couple chapters were Cam-centric. REVIEW AND FOLLOW PLEASE!)


	17. Chapter 16

_(Disclaimer: You know the drill...)_

 **Chapter 16: Scent of a Ranger**

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Aria and Tori were sitting in the lounge area; Aria was wearing gray shorts, a large black tee that was tied just above her belly button, and her converse. Tori was doing homework while Aria was softly strumming her guitar when Blake walked up to the blue ranger. Aria sat back in her little corner and watched with amusement, 'This outta be good'

"Yo Tori, what's up?"

"Huge test next week, what's that?" she asked referring to the bottle Blake was holding

"We just got some new samples in of a new sport's cologne for girls, and uh, thought you might wanna try it"

Aria held back a laugh 'Smooth bro'

"Oh!" Tori said as she took the bottle with a smile. However, that smile faded when she smelt the cologne; that stuff was rank "Well, um, it really smells…great"

"So…aren't you gonna try it?"

Aria just full on face palmed, 'This fool is totally oblivious'

"Oh, yeah, sure"

Blake then decided to take it upon himself to douse Tori in the perfume, making her cringe and Aria to gag as the smell wafted over.

"Dude, I think that's enough!" she coughed out at her brother

Thankfully Kelly called Blake over, leaving the two girls to try and fan the smell away. Dustin was about to walk over when he smelt the perfume and covered his face

"Ew, it smells like my grandma's feet in here!"

"You're grandmas been dead ten years" Tori pointed out

"Exactly" and with that he walked away

"And this is my cue to leave sorry Tor, but that shit stank and I ain't gonna sit in it anymore" Aria said as she stood up with guitar and song book in her hand. She walked out and headed to her favorite spot on the beach; the cliff where her brothers first fought the Winds. It wasn't her fondest memory but this was where she felt like everything began for her and her siblings.

 **-Cliff-**

She sat with her back against a large boulder and her legs in front of her as she absently started playing,

 _I know that I'm running out of time  
I want it all, mmm, mmm  
And I'm wishing they'd stop tryna turn me off  
I want it on, mmm, mmm_

 _And I'm walking on a wire, trying to go higher  
Feels like I'm surrounded by clowns and liars  
Even when I give it all away  
I want it all, mmm, mmm_

 _We came here to run it, run it, run it  
We came here to run it, run it, run it_

 _Just like fire, burning up the way  
If I can light the world up for just one day  
Watch this madness, colorful charade  
No one can be just like me any way  
Just like magic, I'll be flying free  
I'mma disappear when they come for me  
I kick that ceiling, what you gonna say?  
No one can be just like me any way_

 _Just like fire, uh_

"That a new one?" Hunter said

"Hey dude, did I miss something?"

"The Wind are meeting us in a couple minutes, wanna come?"

"Yea I'm down" Aria stood up, brushed the sand off her legs, picked up her guitar and walked down to the beach with her brothers.

 **-Beach-**

The rangers stood next to the skate ramp and watched as Cam almost expertly ride a skateboard up and down it, pulling off different tricks that Shane could barely do.

"Hey Shane, he's even better than you" Tori teased as she Aria laughed at the red ranger's scowl

"Hey, no he's not!"

Cam walked over to the six of them "I gotta work on my backslide nose-slide"

"Dude, where'd you learn to skate like that?"

"Huh, where'd you learn to talk like that?" Aria added

Cam just changed the subject and offered to go surfing causing the rangers to look at each other in confusion.

The boys cheered Cam on when they saw him ride the waves as good as Tori while said ranger had a scowl on her face. Aria was fiddling with her silver necklace as she zoned out, a habit she picked up a while ago, she was wondering what had happened to Cam and why he was acting like this.

She finally snapped out of it when Cam called her out, "Hey Ri, you know what I've always wanted to try? Motocross!"

The four riders of the group busted out laughing

"I think I can bust out some serious lap times!" he added confidently

"Moto isn't something you can just try dude" Aria warned

Dustin backed her up, "She's right, it can be totally brutal"

"Yeah man, it's not like riding a little skateboard, or playing in the water!" Blake laughed. But with a glare from the red and blue rangers, he shut up.

"Whatever man! I just wanna check it out! Come on!" Then Cam took off running, leaving the others behind with confused looks on their faces.

 **-Track-**

Aria knew that she and her brothers were the best on the track, though she would never admit it out loud; they were discovered by Roger Hannah for crying out loud. So she had expected at least one of them to win in the race between Cam, Dustin, and themselves. At first Blake and Dustin were in the lead, Aria and Hunter closely followed. All of a sudden Cam came up out of nowhere and beat all four to the finish.

The four took off their helmets and stared at Cam in front of them.

"Ok….what the fuck was that?" Aria said bluntly as she untied the two braids that held her hair in place while she raced

"Nobody rides like that first time out!" Dustin grumbled

"Next time, I'm gonna crack the throttle and see what this bad boy can do!"

"Not before I crack your head open" Aria said menacingly, this guy was not Cam

"Oh calm down babe-" Hunter and Blake's eyes widened at those words, Aria hated when guys called her that

The guy in green never got a chance to finish because Aria leapt off her bike and jumped at the guy. Dustin was able to prevent her from clawing his face off but she did get one good hit in.

"Easy tiger" Dustin joked lightly

Shane's morpher beeped, providing a much needed distraction.

"Go for Shane"

"The city plaza has been invaded; you must go there at once

"All over it, let's go!"

"Hey! You're seriously not bailing now! What about moto number two?" 'Cam' complained

"Cam, what are you talking about? Hello aliens?!" Tori reminded

"Ok and that affects me…how?"

"Dude, how hard did Ari punch you? This is the part where we go save the world remember?"

Aria kept her mouth shut as she pulled her helmet back, not bothering to fix her hair, and sped off without another word. This guy was pissing her off too much.

 **-Plaza-**

The seven of them streaked over to the plaza, not bothering to change out of their race uniforms or civilian clothes. There they found the alien Sensei warned them about.

"Well hello!" the alien, Fragra said in a cackling voice.

"Hey freak! We're here to shut you down!" Shane said

"Oh please! Don't you know that bright colours are so last year?" Fragra said as she walked away

Aria turned to her brothers, "Since when is black a bright colour?"

"Hey, I didn't know the new model was out?! SWEET!" 'Cam' said as he walked off to a bright red sports car.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Hunter cried out in frustration.

Fragra suddenly turned around and took the rangers by surprise "Smell-zaks! I mean, Kelzaks!"

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJASTORM!"

"THUNDER STORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Ninja Ranger Power!"

They six of them attacked, relying on hand-to-hand while Cam just checked out the car. The others were trying to get Cam's attention but Aria finally snapped. "Look, we don't need his help" she said as she expertly dodged and kicked multiple Kelzaks away "Forget it"

Tori and Dustin were trying to get to Cam but was intercepted by Fragra, "Hello Darlings!" she cackled as she sprayed them with an unknown substance and causing them to be turned into perfume.

"TORI! DUSTIN!" Shane cried

"LET THEM GO!" Hunter added

Upon hearing this Aria turned around to only see Shane and her brothers, that's when she realized that they were taken.

"NOOO!"

"Say goodbye to your friends, now they're part of my exclusive perfume line! Ciao darlings!" With that, Fragra disappeared

"Power down!"

Aria turned on her heel and ran to Cam who was lying on the ground eating a sandwich. All three saw her hand ablaze with black energy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she commanded, her voice slowly becoming more distorted, her eyes pitch black again

"Yo Ri, calm down, now's not the time" Blake said gently "This is Cam we're dealing with"

She took a few seconds to calm herself down "This isn't Cam, Cam would never leave his friends like that" she said before she streaked off

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Aria had gone back to Ops to change and grab her guitar to try and calm down when she heard rustling from a nearby storage closet. She tensed immediately and cautiously walked to the door and swung it open. Inside she saw Cam in his Ninja Uniform, tied up against the wall. "I knew it!" she exclaimed as she helped him untie himself.

"Listen, I'll explain later, now we gotta go!" Cam said

"Cam, Aria, I thought you were with the others!" Sensei said

As he saw them walk towards the entrance

"I'll explain everything later dad!"

"I've traced the essence of Tori and Dustin to an abandoned factory"

"Thanks Dad!"

"Thanks Sensei!" the two called out as they made a bee-line for the exit

 **-Factory-**

Aria and Cam managed to streak to the factory Sensei told them about and caught up with Shane, Blake, and Hunter.

"Guys!" Cam shouted trying to catch his breath "I'm here to help!"

"Forget it, we don't want your help" Hunter sneered

Aria stepped out from the shadows, "Easy bro, he's telling the truth"

"Uh, dude, didn't you want to rip his head off earlier?" Shane said

From behind them the second Cam appeared, still in his race gear "Hey! Dudes, why'd you bail on me like that?"

The three of them looked from the real Cam to the second one, trying to figure out what was going on

"Aw, man not another clone story! Didn't we already do this?" Shane complained

The second Cam tried to reach out to Shane but was flipped over despite the real Cam's protests.

"He's not a clone, he's a virtual replicant; I created him to help me out in Ninja Ops. But he kinda got out of control"

"Yeah, sorry about the whole tying you up in the closet thing bro, guess I got a little over excited" the 'Cyber Cam' apologized

"Oh we can fix that" Aria stated as she used a weird remote to help Cam reprogram him.

"Later dudes" Cyber Cam said as he slowly disappeared.

Just as Cyber Cam left, Fragra jumped into view, "You annoying little brats, you my olfactory factory"

"Just to bring you up to speed," Aria said to Cam "She's got Tori and Dustin"

"Now for you to join them!" the alien said as she blasted at the five rangers. They dodges her attack and morphed

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"SAMURAI STORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

Using their primary weapons, the five attacked Fragra who proved to be an even tougher opponent than they thought.

"You boys keep her busy," Aria said, "I'll look for Tori and Dustin"

"Ok, be careful Ri" Blake said as he and the guys fought on. Aria ran the other way to look for her friends.

Aria bolted around the factory until she found a giant wooden circle in the middle of the wall. 'Worth a shot' she thought to herself as she pushed one side open, to her luck it led to where all perfumes/people were. One foot in and she immediately heard the cries of help from multiple people. She scrambled around trying to find all the victims but it was harder than she thought. Getting a bit desperate she started picking up random bottles and talking to them to try and find the people.

"Hello? Anyone one in here? Damn I'm going crazy"

She ran around the lab getting more and more frustrated trying to find her friends when a blast came hurtling through the door. Luckily, Aria found a box containing various perfumes, she knew she picked the right one when she heard Tori and Dustin shout in victory. Unfortunately the lab exploded just as she was about to run out; thinking quickly she used her Thunder Shield and waited for the smoke to clear.

"ARIA! NO!" Her friends cried

"Oh, was the Black Ranger in there? I'm so sorry" Fragra said smugly

Being the badass she was Aria stepped out of the smoke with the box under her arm, "Oh you're gonna be bitch!"

She ran up to her teammates and hurled one of her Black Daggers into Fragra's stomach, knocking her down for a couple of seconds.

Setting the box down Aria released the normal citizens out first and watched as the perfume floated into the air and disappeared.

"Nice work Ri" Cam praised

"Thanks"

She reached down to the last two bottles, one blue and one yellow, and opened them. "Good thing they're colour coded"

Dustin and Tori floated up in the air and dropped down in front of them unharmed.

"You guys okay?" she asked as she pulled them up to their feet.

Fragra decided that now was the time to stand up and attack "HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY SCENTS!" She charged at the rangers with an unexpected ferocity and separated Cam from his team. He watched as his friends were taken down one at a time.

"ENOUGH!" he commanded, "You picked the wrong green ranger to mess with!" he clicked two clasps on his belt removing his gold shield "ACTIVATE SUPER SAMURAI MODE!"

"Whoa…" they all said, this was the first time they have seen Cam's power boost

They six rangers watched and cheered as they watched their nerdy friend use his ninja and samurai skills to take down Fragra, even moving the battle outside of her factory. Using only his Samurai Saber, Cam took down Fragra with ease. They followed Cam outside and saw, you guessed it, a 30 story Fragra.

"DARLINGS HA! STAND BACK!" she mocked as she slammed her giant foot down.

"Why do they always have to get big?" Aria grumbled

"Samurai Star Megazord!" Cam called, when his zord came to view he streaked up into the cockpit and started fighting.

"Well I ain't gonna sit and watched another battle…" Aria said

"She's right, let's give him some backup!" Shane agreed

"Right behind you!" Hunter said as they called their zords.

Both trios formed their own megazords. First the Winds went into Lightning Mode and used their Ramp Attack, then Cam used a Power Sphere to finish her off. However, the Thunders had come in just after Cam defeated Fragra; they could all hear Aria basically yell through the com-link, "What the hell guys? We formed this thing for nothing?" all of the rangers except for Aria just busted out laughing.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

"Look whose back!" Shane shouted as the Winds entered Ops

"'Sup yo?!" Cyber Cam replied

"What are you doing here poser?"

"Don't worry, we've reprogrammed him to be totally dedicated to his work" explained Aria who was standing with Cam behind them

"He'll stay in Ninja Ops from now on" Cam finished

"Good, cause I don't need any more competition on the track!" Dustin exclaimed

Cyber Cam came up behind him and put his arm around his shoulder "Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game!" Dustin just had a look of annoyance on his face.

"His attitude still needs a little work…"Tori suggested

Aria looked at the virtual replica cracked her knuckles and sent a glare that just said 'open your mouth again and I'll end you'. Cyber Cam's smile fell and he went back to work.

"There, fixed it" she said with a smirk and a wink

"Why'd you make Cyber Cam so good at sports?" Shane asked

"Uh, I guess because I never had a chance to learn that stuff" Cam admitted

"But now you do…" Dustin pointed out

Cam smiled at this realization

 **-Track-**

Aria and Dustin were at the track teaching Cam how to race, they cheered as he pulled up to them.

"Whoo! Pretty awesome huh?" Dustin said

"Wow! Now I know why you love this so much! I'm ready for another lap"

"Okay Cam" Aria laughed "Go for it dude!"

They watched him pull off on his little toy bike and laughed, "Well, you gotta start somewhere" Aria shrugged as Dustin laughed and casually slung his arm over her shoulder, not noticing the blush tingeing her cheeks.

(A/N: Song, 'Just Like Fire" belongs to P!NK. Review and favorite pwease)


	18. Chapter 17

_(Disclaimer: I do NOT own PRNS. I own Aria Bradley and anything not from the show)_

 **Chapter 17: I Love Lothor**

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Tori and Aria were helping Kelly set up for the live cooking demo taking place when Aria decided to ask Tori something. The two girls had grown to be the best of friends over the past couple months. Aria was wearing ripped white jeans, a dark purple cropped tee, her oversized black and gray flannel, and a black beanie covering the two tight braids holding her hair.

"Hey Tor?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Anything you wanna tell me about you and Blake?" she asked with a knowing smirk

"W-what? I-t's nothing!" Tori stammered, her face slowly going red

"Are you sure? Cause you two have been pretty close these last few weeks"

"You got a point Ri," Kelly added with a teasing smile "So what's up with you and Blake?"

Before Tori could retort the guys excluding Cam walked in.

"Hey what's this?" Shane asked "Real Pro Sport Cook Off?"

"Since when is cooking an action sport?" Dustin asked the three girls

"Real Sport Pro Drinks has chosen Storm Chargers to host a series of cooking demonstrations" Kelly explained proudly

"Dude, that stuff is nasty, I don't care how you cook it!"

"Stick around! You might be surprised" Aria shrugged

Just then Cam walked in, "Hey girls!"

"Hey Cam!" the two girls greeted

"Cam, you taking cooking?" Shane asked almost mockingly, causing the boys to start softly laughing

"The girls wanted someone to take the class with and Dad said I should get out more" he explained "So here I am!"

"Yeah, but cooking class?" at those words a bunch of girls walked in, taking all the boys' attention

"It has its advantages"

"Dude's got a point" Dustin said slowly

The guys except Blake bolted to the girls and started talking to them. Tori, Aria and Cam sat in the front row while Blake stood by the counter watching Tori talk/ flirt with Cam. He wasn't the only one though, Dustin watched from the second row as Cam leaned over to Aria and whisper in her ear causing to giggle a bit, he was starting to feel a little jealous so he just turned and continued talking to Shane. Aria was a bit hurt that Dustin basically ignored her for the chicks that walked in but chose to just ignore it. "Great…" she mumbled as Blake walked over and sat down with her, Tori, and Cam.

Annoyed by all the giggles coming from behind them Aria turned around and looked at Shane and Dustin, "I thought cooking was lame?"

"What? I mean, everyone should know how to cook" Shane said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Aria rolled her eyes and turned around, waiting for the demo to start

As Kelly started the demo Marah and Kapri showed up with a love potion pellet.

"How do we know which ranger will fall in love?" Marah asked

"Does it really matter? There's five of them and we only need one, and then we'll convince him to helps us take over Earth. Uncle's gonna be like so proud of us!" Kapri explained "Plus, I might get a boyfriend out of the whole deal!"

Marah's smile faded, "You? It was my idea! I want a boyfriend! Give that to me!" She demanded as she and her sister fought over the pellet. From that fight, it flew from their hands and landed in one of the cups of smoothies.

The pellet landed in the cup Blake grabbed, "Past the lips, over the gums" he said as he took a sip. "Whoa, that tasted weird…"

"Let me see" Dustin offered "Aw dude; that was nasty bro" he grimaced

Cam took the glass from Dustin and tasted it as well, he didn't say anything all he had was a look of agreement to the two other guys.

"Not very sweet is it?" Tori said

"Nothing will ever be as sweet as you two" Cam said unexpectedly to the girls

"Um, thanks?"

"You feelin' ok Cam?"

On the other side of them Blake and Dustin were staring at Tori and Aria respectively

"Why are you looking at us like lovesick baboons?" Tori asked

"Because that's what they are" Cam said menacingly to the two boys, Blake and Dustin's faces darkened "Hey, go swing from a tree and let the humans have a conversation"

"Cam!" Aria scolded, what was happening to him?

Dustin grabbed a fistful of protein powder and threw it at Cam, "Back off, I saw her first!"

Copying his actions, Cam threw the powder back, this time hitting Blake as well, "Make me!"

"Oh god no…" Aria said, knowing Hunter it would only be a matter of time before he yelled-

"FOOD FIGHT!"

Food was being flung everywhere so Aria grabbed Tori's hand and bolted out the door

 **-City-**

"Ok, what the hell was that?" Aria asked

"I don't know, what has gotten in to them?"

"I knew Blake was into you, but I didn't think Cam was"

The two girls continued their conversation when the three guys ran up to them.

"TORI! Yo wait up!" they heard Blake call from behind them, "I, uh, got you something."

"How sweet! My very own, socket wrench set!" she said with fake enthusiasm

"Here, this is for you" Dustin said to Aria

"O, um, thanks dude" she said a little scared to open it. but to her surprise when she opened the bag there was a brand new song book. Her old was already at the last page and she had been wanting to get another one. The book was all black with a giant purple 'A' on the front. "Wow um, thanks Dustin! This is really-"

"Pathetic and impersonal?" Cam interrupted

"Oh yeah, you would know everything about pathetic and impersonal huh?" Blake countered

"A true man would know what women really want is Acne Face Wash" Cam said as he pulled out two giant bottles of face wash

Blake and Dustin laughed at Cam's gift while Tori gave the wrench set back to Blake. "I think we need a little time, alone, we'll catch you guys later!" Tori said as she dragged Aria off.

"Thanks again for the book Dustin!" she yelled out

When the girls left Blake and Dustin turned to Cam and glared holes into his head, "Look what you did, you just scared them off!" Blake yelled

"You gave her tools!"

"Man, I've had enough!" Dustin said annoyed "Ri, is mine! Go after Tori for all I care!"

"Hey, Tori's mine! Go find someone else!"

"She didn't seem to think so" Cam taunted

"Yeah, well I know so, and as soon as you're out of the way so will the entire world! And you," he continued to Dustin "back off my little sister!"

"Is that a threat?"

"You know what? Fine! Thunder, Samurai, Earth battle, three o'clock, the beach" Dustin said darkly

"I'll be there"

"So will I"

With that the three went their separate ways

 **-With Aria and Tori-**

The two girls continued walking around the city, trying to avoid the three guys when they found something rather interesting

"Um, hey T? Do you see that?" Aria asked directing to the group of Kelzaks

"Kelzaks…at a television studio?"

"No harm in checking it out right?"

They snuck onto the set and hid behind some props and found Lothor talking to an alien rat, Mr. Ratwell. They listened into their conversation,

"You have to trust me on this!" Ratwell persuaded "That little box right there is magic!"

The girls tried to sneak off but were caught y Zurgane, "This is a closed set, security, escort these visitors to their doom!" this cued a horde of Kelzaks to came and attack them. Aria and Tori fought back to back using the props around them to fight the black and red minions off. However, when one fell two more took its place so the two were captured within a couple of minutes.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

After cleaning up the shop Kelly turned on the T.V to watch the cooking channel, but Shane and Hunter weren't paying much attention to the class anymore.

"Yo, where did everyone go?" Hunter whispered to Shane

"I don't know man, let's just get through this so we look for the others"

They turned their attention to the T.V and saw Lothor's face on every channel and all the girls swooning over the masked ninja. Knowing something was up; they ran out of Storm Chargers"

 **-Television Studio-**

Zurgane tied the girls up and went to tell Lothor that they captured the two rangers. Aria had a plan to escape, it was simple but it would work, they just had to wait until no one was looking…obviously

 **-Beach-**

It was 3 o'clock and the three guys met at the beach as planned

"Let's do this" Blake said through gritted teeth

"Ready when you are" Cam replied

"You're going down" Dustin finished

The three got into their fighting stances and charged at each other; throwing kicks and punches at one another. They eventually just started to grabbed one another and throw each other to the ground. The three were so engulfed in their fight that they didn't even see Mr. Ratwell come up and fire at them. They were all knocked to the ground and looked up to the rat in front of them

"Get up, we're still rolling!"

 **-Television Studio-**

Lothor and Zurgane finally left so Aria charged her hands with lightning in hopes of burning the ties off, however she couldn't make it strong enough to burn through them without drawing attention to them. She looked at Tori next to her and saw how much she was struggling to untie herself. Aria thought to herself for a moment and finally came up with something.

"T, I'm about to do something crazy right now"

"Huh?"

"I can't make my lightning strong enough without letting the entire building know, and I don't know about you but if we stay here any longer we're gonna be killed"

"Ri, you're not gonna do what I think you're gonna do are you?"

"Maybe…now be quiet for a sec"

Aria closed her eyes and focused on the dark power within her, she had never called on her powers herself; they've always just taken over. Tori looked over at her friend and saw the black aura slowly encase her, it was working. Aria tried to stay connected to reality by thinking of her brothers, her new friends, Dustin, anything. Her eyes snapped open, pitch black and frightening, yet there was something different. Her fists ablaze with the black energy, seconds later the ties burnt off, freeing Aria. She turned to Tori and using her incredible aim fired at Tori's ties, freeing her as well.

Aria shut her eyes again for a few seconds and when she opened them she was back to normal "Holy shit, I just did that!" Tori smiled at her friend and they ran out.

When they got out Aria's morpher beeped, "Aria here, what's up?"

Sensei spoke through her morpher "Aria, I need you and Tori to go to the beach. Blake, Cam, and Dustin need your help"

"On it, let's go"

 **-Beach-**

Blake, Cam, and Dustin stood before Ratwell and prepared to morph

"I got this guy" Dustin proclaimed as he stepped in front of the other two.

"Back off Dustin, I'll handle it" Cam countered

"Step aside, I'll take him." Blake demanded

"I said I got this!" shouted Dustin as he grabbed the two boys and pulled them aside, prompting another fight between the three of them

Fed up, the three broke apart and morphed

"NINJA STORM"

"SAMURAI STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Power of Earth!"

"Green Samurai Power!"

"Power of Thunder!"

They guys continued their fight and completely ignored Ratwell.

Tori and Aria ran to the beach and saw the three guys morphed and fighting each other rather than Ratwell.

"Um, hello? Isn't that the alien over there?" Aria demanded

The girls shared a look before pushing the three rangers apart, this proved ineffective as they just collided again.

"It's time you knew the truth Tori!" Blake said

"Ri, you need to know something!" Dustin added

"What?" the girls exclaimed at the same time

They tried separating the three again but to no avail, giving up the black and blue rangers morphed

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

As soon as they morphed into their ranger suits Ratwell fired his crossbow multiple times at the girls, causing them to spark and collapse.

"TORI! ARIA!" the guys yelled. They ran over to their fallen friends and helped them try to stand up. "Are you girls ok?" Cam asked

From behind them Ratwell answered for them "They won't be for long!" He fired his crossbow again, only for the three guys to stand up and shield Tori and Aria from getting hit. However, all five of them were still blown back from the explosion that erupted.

"Romance, action, this episode has it all!" Ratwell exclaimed in excitement

"Cam, Blake, Dustin you're under a spell you have to fight it!" Tori groaned

"This is no spell" Dustin said

"My feelings are real!" Blake agreed as both guys stood up "And I'm gonna prove it!" they yelled at the same time. They stumbled in front of Aria and Tori and stood there waiting for Ratwell to attack. Dustin had his Lion Hammer and Blake had his Navy Antlers to arm themselves having dropped their primary weapons.

"Guys, don't!" Aria begged

"I'll protect you Aria!" Dustin proclaimed

"How heroic" Ratwell said with boredom as he fired again, Blake and Dustin shield the girls and stood unmoving, their weapons shot out of their hands. They remained there standing with their arms out as if asking to be fired upon.

"Get back!" Tori demanded

"You want some more?" Ratwell asked as he fired again. The girls opened their visors and watched helplessly as Blake and Dustin took every hit. "Now I'm getting mad!"

"You gotta get outta here!" Blake demanded as he and Dustin basically threw the girls aside and stood with their arms out once again.

"BLAKE!"

"DUSTIN!"

The girls cried out, Aria was almost to tears and even Cam was scared something had happened to the two. But to their surprise, the navy and yellow rangers were still standing, not even phased by the attacks.

"Impossible! Nobody can be that strong!" Ratwell whined

"Nothing can beat the power of love!" Dustin shouted as he and Blake slowly started charging towards him. With just pure human strength the two boys disarmed Ratwell of his crossbow and knocked him to the ground.

"Okay guys, you win" Cam admitted "CATCH!" he yelled as he tossed them their Navy Antlers and Lion Hammer. Seeing their primary weapons nearby, they grabbed them and caught their secondaries in the air. Blake's Navy Antlers were attached to his Thunder Staff and Dustin had his Ninja Sword in one hand and his Lion Hammer in the other

First, they took turns slashing the rat, and then Blake picked him up with his Antlers while Dustin hit repeatedly hit the overgrown rat causing him to blow up.

Aria and Tori looked at each other then at Blake and Dustin with smiles on their faces.

"Tori/Ri I-" Blake and Dustin began but they never finished since two pink hearts popped out of their chest and burst in front of them, looking over at Cam they saw the same thing. Both were confused, not only about the floating hearts, but also what the guys were about to say.

"TORI! RI!" Shane and Hunter yelled as they ran up to them. "You guys okay?"

The girls tried to stand up but realized how hurt they still were, "What happened?"

"I don't know" Tori said

"But we got worked!" Aria finished as she and her friend collapsed again.

"Tori…"

"Aria…"

Dustin and Blake said as they went to check up on the girls

Suddenly, before them stood a giant Ratwell, Shane and Hunter pulled Tori and Aria behind them and thought of what to do.

"We'll handle this one right Dustin?" Blake said

"Right, come on!"

Cam spoke into his morpher, "Cyber Cam, make the Thunder and Wind Megazords compatible for a single driver"

"On it dude" they heard C.C say

When the zords came into view Blake and Dustin jumped into action. The others watched as they took Ratwell down with ease.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Cam, Dustin, Aria, Blake, and Tori all sat on the table in ops. Blake and Cam sat next to each other and Tori sat across from them while Dustin was lying down with his head in Aria's lap.

"If this is a love hangover, I hope I never fall in love again" Cam groaned

"I heard that" Blake agreed causing Aria to send a tiny bolt of lightning his way. When he glared at her she motioned to Tori who had a hurt look on her face "I mean, at least not while under a spell"

Tori just nodded and asked "So what did you mean it was time to know the truth?"

"Yeah, what do I need to know Dustin?" Aria asked as she looked down at the yellow ranger

Luckily for the guys Shane and Hunter walked in with a tray of fried chicken "A peace offering!" Shane announced "Since your cooking class kinda got messed up"

"Homemade and from the heart" Hunter added

Aria laughed at her brother, "Homemade my ass! Last time you tried to cook something you almost burned the house down!" she got up, ran to the entrance, and found what she was looking for. She returned back down to Ops and showed the evidence. "Since when does homemade food come in a bucket?"

From the table Dustin laughed "Haha, busted!"

The team spent the next few hours just laughing and eating, enjoying each other's company.

Aria pulled Dustin aside, away from the others' view, for a quick second "Thanks for that song book you got me, I really needed it"

"Oh, uh, yeah I kinda forgot about that" he said as he scratched the back of his head

"Well thanks again" she gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked back to their friends

(A/N: Hope you liked this one! REVIEW AND FOLLOW!)


	19. Chapter 18

_(Disclaimer: i do not own PRNS, only Aria and everything not in the show. sorry for not updating yesterday)_

 **Chapter 18: Goodwill Hunter**

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Aria was waiting for her brothers and friends to get off work, they actually had some free time today and they were planning on hanging out after work. Usually Aria would be playing her guitar but instead she was sitting on the counter staring at the floor.

After the whole 'Love Potion' scenario she kept thinking back to what Dustin was going to say. Obviously she had a huge crush on him but so far she was able to keep it on the down low. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but she just didn't want to get hurt…again.

Finally Blake yelled out the words Aria was waiting for, "Quittin' time! So are we riding?" he asked his siblings

"Can't bro, I gotta meet Charlie" Hunter said

"Oh yeah, your other little brother" Blake said with a laugh

Upon hearing this Dustin walked up to the Bradleys, "What there are more of you guys?!"

"Oh god no" Aria said with a laugh

"I know what it's like growing up without a father so, uh, I volunteered to help out after school, you know, do some stuff" Hunter explained

Next thing they know, Shane was slamming on the window trying to grab the gang's attention. He walked in beaming with a sports magazine

"Check it out! Big Air is having a contest for the best sports action video!"

"Let's see" Aria said as she grabbed it out of the red ranger's hands "The best one minute video will be played on national television during the next Action Games!" she read out loud with interest

Handing the magazine to Dustin his eyes lit up with excitement "I'm so gonna win!"

"Uh, don't you mean come in second?" Shane teased

"Haha no dude I mean I'm-I'm gonna win!"

The others stared at him before he realized Shane was trash talking him.

"I don't know how any of you are gonna win anything without a video camera" Tori pointed out

"What about Dustin's?" Shane asked

Aria had a huge grin on her face as she turned to Dustin and rested her elbow on his shoulder, "Well if I remember correctly, you taped your camera to your helmet, right before you crashed into that big oak tree"

"Yeah, but I got a really cool shot! You should see it, it's all like _drr-drr-drr_ _AHHHH_ and then like _BOOF_ and then there's nothing…" Dustin explained with an awkward laugh. Aria just patted him on the shoulder

After a couple of seconds Blake spoke up "Yeah so, uh, Cam's got a camera"

Realization hit all the guys' faces as they raced to the door, the girls rolled their eyes and followed them. While they were out of earshot Aria looked to Tori, "I have a camera"

"Should we tell the guys?"

They stared at each other before agreeing "NAH!" they laughed as they walked to Tori's van and headed to Ops

 **-Ninja Ops-**

The guys were still fighting when they got to Ops, trying to beat each other to Cam while the girls just walked a few paces behind them

Blake, Shane, and Dustin started yelling questions to Cam and talking about who gets the camera first and what not, but Cam got fed up.

"Hold it, just wait a minute! No one's calling anything until I know what's up"

Shane just handed him the magazine, "Check out page five" Cam took a few minutes to read the article and came to a decision

"Okay, I'll do it but I have some conditions" he told the rangers who were now sitting in front of him like a class of kindergarteners "one, nobody touches my camera but me, I saw the results of your last outing of when good riders go bad. Two, everyone gets equal time on their video; I can't stand all this begging. Also, I don't know why you didn't ask Ri, doesn't she have a camera?"

The rangers, excluding Tori looked at her in disbelief "What?" they continued staring "Ok fine you can use my camera, but same rules apply!"

Dustin raised his hand; "Dustin" Cam said "Can I go to the bathroom?" "No way"

 **-Skate Park-**

It was Shane's turn to use Cam and Aria's cameras so they were filming him while the others watched. From behind her Aria could hear the complaining of her teammates.

"Not bad, I think we got some good shots" Cam said

"Better than Blake, Ri, and Dustin?"

"Dude! You know _I'm_ the one filming your video?" Aria pointed out

Ignoring her Shane continued "Ok, give me one more try man! I know I can nail the front side railslide"

"Can we go now? I've gotta get in the water before the swell dies down" Tori pleaded

"We haven't even been here long! What about equal time?"

Shane's morpher beeped, "Saved by the bell" Aria grumbled

"Go for Shane"

"Kelzaks…..around…city" C.C said cutting in and out

"Something's obviously wrong with Cyber Cam; I'll check it out and call Hunter"

"We'll take the Kelzaks"

 **-City-**

After leaving the skate park and changing into their Ninja Uniforms the rangers headed into the city only to find two Kelzaks just stretching in the middle of the plaza.

"Two of 'em that's it?" Dustin exclaimed when they reached the plaza "I can take this one by myself" at those words, basically an army of Kelzaks appeared around them.

"You had to say it didn't you?" Aria said to Dustin

"Is it Kelzak migration season?" Shane asked sarcastically "I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling a little outnumbered"

"Oh really?"

"Well this just keeps getting better"

"I think it's time to morph"

"Word, Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Ninja Ranger Power!"

The five rangers split up to take their own group off Kelzaks. Aria used her Black Daggers to try and fight them off. She slashed them in the chest and summoned a ball of lightning to fire at them. Next she got a bunch of them and grouped them tight together. She hurled her daggers on either side and watched as they were all electrocuted. However, a whole new group of Kelzaks kept coming up every time one of the rangers seemed to get the upper hand.

"What's the deal?" Dustin complained

"There's so many! I can't even count that high!"

"And you're really good at math!"

"Where did they all come from?"

Next thing they know, the Kelzaks disappeared without any sort of explanation.

"What the hell?"

The five of them regrouped and lowered their visors, "What's up with that?" Shane asked

"As long as their gone dude, don't ask any questions" Aria said

"Cam did you call Hunter?" Blake asked through his morpher

"There's been a glitch in the communications system, I couldn't get Hunter online. There's something weird going on"

"No lie" Dustin agreed

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Blake and Aria met up with Hunter to ask him about Charlie and to tell him what happened with the Kelzaks earlier

"How's everything with you and Charlie?" Blake asked

"He won't even talk to me, I think I'm just gonna bag it"

"Look, he lost his dad just give some room, he'll come around"

"Dude, I'm trying"

"Hey, don't worry about it; he'll let you know when he's ready. Just kick it with him until then" Aria suggested "I remember how you acted after…ya know…"

"I thought I was supposed to be the older, wiser one" Hunter joked

"You're still older" Blake joked

"Way older" Aria added as she playfully slapped his face, prompting a play fight between the two.

 **-City-**

The Bradleys had gotten call from Cam saying that there was a new monster to deal with in the city. After locating him they streaked past him and slashed across his chest multiple times.

"I'm getting rocked in the middle of this music block!" the alien yelled

"Who is this radiohead?" Aria demanded

"He thinks he's Johnny Love" Hunter said

The alien, now known as DJ Drummer blasted the Thunders, knocking them to the ground. Behind him the Winds appeared and charged to attack, all three hit DJ Drummer at the same time, only to be blasted as well. As he reared back to attack again, he vanished

"Ok what the fuck?" Aria asked confused

Tori looked around her, "He just…vanished!"

"What's up with that?" Dustin grumbled

Aria thought a loud, "This is too weird"

Hunter looked over to his siblings, "Let me know when you figure it out; I, uh, gotta be somewhere"

"Later!" the group replied as Hunter took off.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Aria, Blake, Dustin, and Cam stood before the computer looking over the footage of them racing.

"I think I should consider a career in cinematography" Cam wondered a loud

The three riders just looked at the screen with boredom written on their faces, "I don't know dude it's just, not blowing me away" Dustin admitted

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but check out this cool power slide!" Blake said with pride

Aria mumbled "At least you got one cool shot, all my footage just looked bland"

"Yeah, but it takes more than one shot to film a video"

Aria was then struck by an idea that would help her and her friends out

"Yeah, maybe we should get back out there" Dustin suggested "You up for it Cam?" he asked as he reached out to pat Cam on the shoulder, only to reveal that they were talking to a hologram

The real Cam came up behind them, "Sorry guys, had some real work to do. Now what were you saying?"

The guys looked at each other in confusion before walking away. Aria moved to stand next to the green ranger, "I need your help with the video"

"I am the one filming you, you know"

"No, I mean editing"

"What do you mean?"

"Look, all of us don't like our individual videos so why don't we just combine the best of each?"

Cam smiled at his friend and agreed with the plan; the two set to work and waited for the others to show up

 **-A Couple of Hours Later-**

The two nerds had finished the editing and returned the tapes to their respective owners; they were adding final touches to the video and listened into the other rangers' conversation. Blake, Dustin, and Tori sat around the table as Shane showed up.

"So, how'd your taped turn out?" he asked as he sat next to Tori "Bout as good as mine?"

"I think all my best moves are in the first ten seconds" Tori said disappointed

"Mine to," Blake admitted "The rest is just tired"

Cam and Aria walked up to their friends, "Let me get this straight" Cam started "After all the hard work from, yours truly, no one's happy?"

"We're not saying it's your guys fault, it's just that we didn't think it'd be so hard to make a rockin' video" Dustin confessed on behalf of the others

"Rangers," Sensei spoke up "This is not new territory, have you not learned by now the value of working as one?"

Aria looked down at the guinea pig "May I Sensei?" with a nod of approval, she continued "You ever heard of the term 'editing'?" a series of exclaims of understanding caused her to smile, shake her head, and walk back to the computer to finish.

As she sat down the computer beeped signaling another attack. Typing a few keys she was able to find Kapri and Marah arguing over the P.A.M

"They've got Lothor's P.A.M!" Tori exclaimed

The feed switched to a video of DJ Drummer in the middle of another quarry

"Get the bikes," Cam said "I'll meet you there"

 **-Quarry-**

Cam somehow managed to get there before anyone else leaving him to fight DJ Drummer by himself. Aria and her brothers got there in time to see Cam being knocked over by DJ Drummer.

As her brothers helped him up Aria called on her weapons

"Black Daggers!" she called as she crossed them, forming a ball of lightning, and fired at the radiohead; sending him back a couple feet.

Blake and Hunter soon joined with their Navy Antlers and Thunder Staff respectively. They flipped over Aria and charged. Blake grabbed him with his Antlers and threw him over to Hunter who slashed him with his Thunder Staff.

"THUNDER STAFF FULL POWER!" Hunter commanded as he slashed DJ Drummer one last time before the monster called up the Kelzaks. A large group of the faceless creatures appeared behind them just as the Winds showed up on their Tsunami Cycles.

"Took you guys long enough!" Aria joked

"Always here to help!" Shane replied

The Thunders watched them take the Kelzaks down easily with their Tsunami Cycles before jumping off a fighting them with their Ninja Swords, Cam soon joined them and called out to the Thunders to form the Thunder Blaster

So that's what they did, they combined their weapons and fired at DJ Drummer, destroying him.

"That wasn't so hard" Cam said seconds before DJ Drummer came back

Aria turned to glare at her friend "Wanna repeat that sentence?"

Both Reds called for their zords through their morphers and streaked up into them when they appeared. Immediately forming their respective megazords, both trios prepared to fight. The Thunders had taken some hard hits but were aided by the Winds. Drummer then blasted at both teams causing them to spark and smoke. Cam then appeared flying overhead and sent a power disk to Hunter. Using their new Sting Blaster, the Thunders prepared to attack.

"Time to turn down the radio boys" Aria said as she pulled over her scope

"Right with ya little sis" Hunter said as he and Blake copied her actions.

As DJ Drummer ran up to attack, hey made the megazord streak past him and hitting him several times. With a final blast to the chest from the Thunders DJ Drummer was destroyed.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Aria and the others were back at Storm Chargers to see who won the video contest. She sat in her usual corner with her knees against her chest thinking about what to do with Dustin. She was always at ease with him and felt as though she didn't have those crazy powers she spent almost her whole life fearing. They were almost suppressed when he was with her she could actually let go and just…feel.

"Hey, you okay Ri?"

He also always seemed to know when something was bothering her.

"Uh, yeah, just thinking of another song" she lied. She looked up on the T.V and saw the beginning of their video "DUDE IT'S ON!" she yelled to Hunter who was talking to Charlie. Dustin moved over to the corner and slung his arm over Aria's shoulder, causing her to blush.

They watched the video Cam and Aria helped make and they were greatly impressed with the editing. First there were shots of Dustin on his bike, then Shane skating, followed by Tori tearing it up in the water. Next were shots of the Bradleys racing with each other, and then cutting to a clip of Aria and Dustin crossing the finish line together. Another shot of Shane followed and then another clip of all the racers of the group riding together. Finally, there were multiple shots of the guys shown in three little squares in the middle of the screen while above was a clip of a smiling Tori and below a clip of Aria removing her helmet. The final image was of Shane doing a funny face towards the camera.

"And one again that was the winning video of the kids in Blue Bay Harbor" the announcer stated, prompting a series of cheers from the group.

"Oh we killed it!" Dustin said with a smile

"Well, we have to give Ari and Cam some of the credit" Tori reminded

"Why thank you T" Aria said with a mock bow

Blake looked to both of his siblings from the floor, "The moto stuff was the sickest though!"

"Uh dude, did you see the skating?"

Aria spoke up with a smirk "Nothing we've never seen before" causing the group to burst into a playful argument as to what part was better.

Aria looked up to Dustin who still had his arm around her, 'Maybe I will say something…'

(A/N: AAHHHH I'm so excited for the next chapter! I'm working on it right now so I hope you guys like it. this chapter we see how Aria really feels about Dustin. Please Review/Follow)


	20. Chapter 19

_(Disclaimer: you know the drill...enjoy!)_

 **Chapter 19: All About Beevil**

 **-Track-**

Aria, Blake, Hunter, and Dustin were at the track racing each other. Dustin was in the lead for a little bit before Aria and her brothers came up behind him and shot past him at the last jump. The three of them passed the finish line together, leaving Dustin in the dust (A/N: Badump-ccchhh). They sat near the track waiting for Dustin to come over and took off their helmets. Dustin was clearly annoyed that he lost.

"You smoked me again!" he sighed "I feel like I'm losing time in every lap"

"You're on a 125 dude, you're supposed to" Blake said earning an elbow in the gut from Aria

"I just put in that carbon fiber air box on; maybe I need to change the jets."

"You need any help?" Aria asked

"Uh, nah I'm good"

With a shrug the Bradleys put their helmets back on "Hey, you guys takeoff I think I'm gonna go ride some more" She told her brothers

"K, we'll see you later" Hunter said as they took off

She walked her bike over to the side and started working on it, seeing if anything was wrong with it. From the corner of her eye she saw Dustin talking to some guy with a mullet. Her eyes widened when she saw him hand his bike over so she ran up to her friend.

"Um, dude what the hell?" she asked

"Oh hey, I thought you left"

"I was gonna ride some more but then I see you hand your bike over. Who was that?"

"Oh, it's this guy" he informed as he showed her the guy's card "He said he would put in a silencer for free."

"Um, dude, hate to be a drag but you think you can trust this guy? I mean it's your _bike_ man"

"Yeah it's cool; I'm getting my bike tomorrow anyway" Aria was still not convinced "Uh, hey listen, I gotta get to work, I'll see you later though ok?"

"Uh, yeah, later!"

Dustin went off to work while Aria pulled out her phone to get Tori, she needed some girl talk.

 **-Beach-**

Aria stood there at the beach playing with her silver necklace in a dark purple cropped tank top, black denim shorts, and her black converse with her hair in a pony-tail waiting for Tori.

A couple of minutes later Aria saw her blonde friend walking towards her

"Hey T"

"Hey what's up?"

"I just need some girl time ya know?"

"Oh trust me I know…"

The two girls became best friends over the months and talk to each other about almost everything.

"I'm worried about Dustin…"

"What did he do now?" Tori said half-jokingly

Aria told Tori everything that happened at the track and waited for her response

"He really needs to start realizing that not everybody deserves his trust."

"Yeah, he's a really good guy; I don't want to see him hurt"

Tori raised her eyebrow at her raven haired friend with a knowing smirk

"What?"

Tori just kept staring at her "He's my friend ok! And I know what it's like to have someone betray your trust. I don't wanna see Dustin go through the same thing…"

"Is that really it?" Tori asked unconvinced

"Ok, fine, I might have a thing for Dustin" Aria mumbled

"Tell him!"

"I'm planning to ok! It's just that-"

"What? I think it's clear Dustin is into you. You're funny, gorgeous, and a total badass!"

"Oh shut up…"

"Tell that to the guys staring at you" Tori said motioning to the small group of guys farther down the beach

"Whatever Tor, come on I wanna do some target practice" Aria said, dragging Tori away and towards Ops

 **-Next Day: Track-**

Aria and her brothers was at the track waiting for Dustin when they saw him walk up to them, in regular clothes and without his bike

"Oh no…" Aria said softly to herself

Dustin explained what had happened to his bike and the Bradleys looked at him with looks of concern and sympathy.

"You guys can go" Dustin said after he finished his story "I'm gonna ask around"

"K dude, we'll see ya later"

A few laps later the four of them regrouped, pulling off their helmets the Bradleys looked to Dustin

"Any luck tracking down your bike?" Blake asked

"Probably in another state by now"

"Give me the guy's card, I'll see if I can help you find this guy" Aria offered

Dustin fished the business card out of his pocket and handed it over nus as Hunter's morpher beeped

"What's up Cam?"

"I'm picking up a signal at the power plant"

"Blake, Ri, and I will check it out"

"Keep asking around, we'll call if it gets ugly" Blake told Dustin before the three of them rode off.

 **-Power Plant-**

Streaking to the power plant the three morphed Thunder Rangers found a red bug like alien. They streaked past her, slashing her numerous times (A/N: Ok seriously, they do this all the freaking time!) and knocking her to the ground.

"Who did that?" she demanded in a hoarse, raspy voice

"Crimson!"

"Navy!"

"Black!"

"You wanna rumble with the bumble? COME ON!" the alien sneered

First Blake tried using his Navy Antlers to grab the bug around her waist but to his surprise she easily grabbed it and forced it open, releasing her "Stop it that tickles!" she then picked Blake up and threw him like a rag doll. Hunter and Aria stood in front of him

"I'll get her!" Hunter said as he fired his Crimson Blaster only to be blasted himself.

"Are you ok?" Blake asked his brother who had fallen next to him. It was now Aria's turn

"Hey! Back off bitch!" she yelled as she shot her ball of lightning from her daggers. Although she did hit the red alien, she attacked Aria and her brothers with her own red blast.

"Ugh, she's brutal!" Blake cried out

"You said it" Hunter agreed

"You wanna play with Beevil?!" she called "Come on Rangers!"

 **-Meanwhile at the Track-**

Dustin was still at the track trying to find out more about the guy who took his bike when something, or someone, caught his eye. It was a girl with light brown hair, a pale, face and was wearing a bright blue shirt. She was clearly out of place because she was walking right in the middle of the track. He noticed the group of racers heading towards her and tried to warn the new girl but she couldn't hear him. So he ran over and pulled her out of the way, seconds before both of them were run over.

They rolled down a bit and landed with Dustin on his back and the girl lying over him.

"Hey, you almost got mowed down back there!" Dustin said as he helped himself and the girl up.

"Guess I wasn't paying attention where I was going" she said in a cracking voice, she had been crying

Almost instinctively Dustin reached out to touch her hair but brought his hand back down to his side

"Your-" the girl began

"Dustin…do I know you? You look kinda familiar"

"I get that a lot, you see one airhead you've seen them all"

"I know how you feel"

"You do?"

"Yeah, people think I'm a space case too, well except one person, but you can't listen to them as long as you're a good person that's all that really counts" he reassured as he gently grabbed her shoulder

He was shocked when she burst into tears and shook his arm away.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm not a good person!" she sobbed as she took a seat "I'm not even a good bad person!"

"Ok, you lost me there"

"Hello? Don't you recognize me?" when he shook his head 'no' the girl stood up "Maybe this'll help" and with a snap of her fingers the girl was revealed to be Marah. Dustin immediately stood up and got in his fighting stance, "No way…"

"You're that evil chick who always tries to vaporize us!" he accused

Marah just snapped her fingers again and returned to her human appearance and sat down again.

"Relax you're safe, they kicked me out because I'm not evil enough" Marah admitted making her cry again

"Hey that's crazy! You're like one of the worst people I've ever met!"

"You're just saying that to make me feel better"

"No seriously I'm not"

"Well anyway, they replaced me with my friend Beevil and she's like way meaner than me"

Dustin, grabbing another chair, sat in front of her and said looking into her eyes "Hey, Marah, you ever thought of turning good?" he noticed that her eyes were green like Aria's but didn't have a grey tint to them.

"What like forever?" "Yeah!" "Yuck…"

"How do you know something's 'yuck' unless you've actually tried it? and besides, it'd be a great way to get back at Lothor!"

"Hey, wait a minute, maybe that would teach those ingrates a lesson!" Marah said with a smile "But if I wanna make them really mad, I have to do something so good, something so disgustingly nice and heroic and- I have to become a power ranger!" she gasped

"Wait a minute I think you might be getting ahead of yourself"

"No think about it! I can help you destroy my uncle; it'll be so much fun!"

 **-Back at the Power Plant-**

The Thunders were still fighting Beevil using their Thunder Staffs. She was a strong opponent to fight and the Thunders were starting to feel tired and sore. The three of them were out of breath and their hits weren't as strong, but Beevil was still standing tall.

"Uh, Hunter, you wanna start calling backup?" Aria asked

"Right" Hunter called the others and waited for them to arrive

 **-With Dustin-**

Dustin's morpher beeped making him stand to get ready to leave. he actually enjoyed talking to Marah, glad to find someone who thought the same way he did.

"I've gotta go" he said sadly

"Okay, well meet me tomorrow at Blue Bay Point, same time? I'll tell you how to beat Beevil!"

Dustin nodded yes as a huge smile came on his face and took off to help his team.

 **-Power Plant-**

The Thunders were blasted again and knocked to the ground when Cam came. However, she shot at Cam as well knocking him down to the ground. Finally the Winds showed up to help, unfortunately that was when Beevil decided to take off.

"Beevil?!" Dustin said to himself "That's who Marah was talking about! She was telling the truth…"

 **-Next Day: Ninja Ops-**

The following day, Aria was on the computer trying to find the guy who took Dustin's bike. The card only gave a name and the address of a construction site so she didn't have much to go off of. 'This is gonna be awhile…' she thought to herself. 'But this is for Dustin…'

 **-Blue Bay Point-**

At the same time, Dustin was at the spot he agreed to meet Marah and was calling out for her.

Suddenly, her face appeared in the greenery surrounding the area. "You showed up!" she said with a smile

"I uh met Beevil, you're right she's seriously bad!"

"I know-" Marah began, but she stopped mid-sentence as Dustin plucked a stray leaf in her hair making the two stop and stare a one another for a second "-that's why you need me"

"I-I don't know…"

"Just, give me a chance to be good, please" she said softly. Their faces were now inches apart

"Ok…what do I have to do?"

Marah's eyes lit up and handed him a strange looking blue and gold, three pronged device. "Ok so, I stole this from uncle's ship and it can neutralize Beevil's energy, but it must be charged with a massive force equal to her strength" she informed

"Where am I supposed to find that?"

"I dunno, don't you guys have some secret headquarters with really cool stuff?"

 **-Ninja Ops-**

After about a couple of hours Aria had managed to find something on the guy with Dustin's bike so she decided to take a break. She fell asleep in her room and told herself to continue searching tomorrow morning. However, she was a light sleeper so when she heard the entrance to Ops open she decided to follow the sound. In a black long sleeved shirt and purple shorts she exited room she ran into Cam and Sensei. The three of them entered the main part of Ops and saw Dustin about to insert a strange looking device into the computer.

"It's five in the morning, would you mid telling us what you're doing?" Cam asked with his arms crossed.

 **-A Few Hours Later-**

They called the rest of the rangers down to Ops to discuss what Dustin had told them. After regaling his story he continued to try and convince his team that Marah had changed for the better. "I'm telling you Marah wants to change! And I believe her"

"Dustin, I'm not so sure about this, remember the whole Choobo thing?" Aria reminded him gently. He told us the same thing and I almost killed you guys"

"How do we know it's not a bomb or a tracking device?" Tori added

"Or a virus?"

"Lothor's goons can't be trusted" Hunter said sternly

"Marah is not a goon!" Dustin said defensively "She's just a little confused"

Shane smiled "Dude, you are so into her!"

Dustin laughed nervously as a blush came to his face "N-no I'm not, I mean she's kinda cute but she really wants to help us"

At those words Aria's heart dropped. Tori was staring at her best friend and saw the hurt in her eyes. Aria didn't hear anything else, she was just thinking about all the times she thought Dustin felt the same about her and thought how much of an idiot she must've been for doing so. Hunter saw his little sister and figured out what was going on, he had learned how to read his siblings' faces whenever something was wrong.

What brought her to reality was the alarm blaring. Beevil was back and she had a job to do.

"Let's go!" Shane commanded

"Wait I have to charge this thing up!" Dustin called out

Aria looked at Dustin with a blank stare and cold voice "Your choice, we have a job to do" She had put up her walls again

She left without another word and went to fight Beevil

 **-City-**

Six of the seven rangers lined up if front of Beevil and drew their weapons.

"Well, well, well six little rangers all in a row!" she taunted

"Back off!" Aria said

"Yeah right! Kelzak Furies!" Beevil called as a group of red Kelzaks appeared before the rangers.

"Nice suits," Tori said "I bet we'd still kick your butts"

"ATTACK!" the six rangers charged at those words and were surprised at the fight these new Kelzaks put up. They seemed unfazed by the rangers' attacks and took every hit without even flinching. Their hits were harder as well, after one hit Hunter in his stomach he was knocked back a little, "Whoa, these guys must be super charged!"

They were eventually thrown back into a huddle on the ground and slowly started to back away from the upgraded minions.

"I'm evil with a capital B!"

But before the Kelzak Furies could get to get a giant blast hit them, causing the red cronies to be blown away. When the smoke cleared it was the last person they thought it would be, it was Marah.

"What's the del Marah?" Beevil asked

"I'm not here for quilting Beevil, I'm gonna take you down"

"Give it ya best shot!" Beevil said as she charged, only to be kicked back by Marah. The rangers watched as she fought Beevil and almost matching her in strength. Aria watched in jealousy as she was able to block most of Beevil's attacks, but that quickly turned to shock when Beevil blasted and threw her off the building. The rangers looked down and saw her lying in a bush of flowers.

"Well, she's one lucky bitch" Aria said quietly.

 **-Plaza-**

They followed Beevil and Marah down to the plaza. They got there in time to see Dustin throw the device he charged at Ops to Marah. With their visors open they ran over to Marah and Dustin.

"That was awesome!" Dustin said smiling; Aria looked away in fear of showing the hurt in her eyes "She stopped the alien freak from destroying us!"

"Of course I wouldn't let Beevil destroy you!" she said with a smile. However, with a wave of her hand she changed into the Space Ninja Marah, their enemy "I wanna do that myself"

Aria looked at Dustin and saw the hurt in his eyes. This was what she feared would happened

"At last!" Beevil said as she stood up and removed the device from her head "The truth! Thanks for the energy boost girlfriend, out plan worked like a charm!"

"You can thank the dum-dum ranger for that!"

Instinctively Aria stepped closer to Dustin who had tears forming in his eyes

"You lied to me" Dustin stated

"Well duh"

Aria stepped in front of him and said to Marah "Dustin was the only one who trusted you. Who saw anything good in you and this is how you pay him back? That's low; you don't deserve someone like him in your life"

"Hey, it's not my fault he's dumber than me!" she laughed

"No one makes a fool of me" Dustin said through gritted teeth. Aria backed up to allow him to morph

"NINJA STROM RANGER FROM! HA!"

"Power of Earth"

With their visors now closed the seven rangers drew their weapons and prepared to attack. Dustin went straight for Beevil while Marah watched. Not far from them Aria was fighting a couple of Kelzak Furies; she was being thrown around, unable to even injure a single Kelzak.

She called over to Cam, "I think now may be a good time as any!" Cam gave an affirmative nod and called Cyber Cam "Cyber Cam, activate Ninja Sword Gold Mode!"

It was an upgrade he and Aria created a few weeks ago; they had been waiting for the perfect time to use it.

The power was sent to the Winds and they mowed through the Kelzaks easily. The battle had gone on for hours and the sun was now setting. It was now Dustin against Beevil, they fought fiercely and it seemed as though Beevil might win. He had been pushed to the ground and Beevil slowly walked up to him like a predator stalked its prey.

"DUSTIN!" Aria cried, he stole a glance at the Black Ranger who had opened her visor and stared at her. Time seemed to freeze for him as he realized how he really felt about her. Time resumed and he felt s surge of energy was able to block Beevil's attack and use his Ninja Sword Gold Dirt Blade to defeat the bee.

The rangers regrouped and saw Marah pull out Lothor's P.A.M "You didn't think I came unprepared did you?"

Seconds later a giant Beevil appeared, "Who's the queen bee now?"

"I thought we were friends!" Dustin shouted at Marah

"Smell ya later" was all she said before disappearing.

Looking back up to Beevil he declared "This one is all mine, Cyber Cam Storm Megazord for one!"

From the ground the others watched Dustin use the star blazer to defeat Beevil with one blow.

Later that night when they all went their separate ways Aria was able to find the guy and asked him to bring the bike to Storm Chargers the next day. Afterwards she grabbed her guitar and song book and started writing.

 **-Next Day-**

Aria walked in with her guitar followed by her brothers, Shane and Tori and found Dustin with a glum look on his face.

"Hey" Blake called out

"You ok?" Tori asked with concern

"Man I'm such a chump" Dustin said frustrated "I'll never trust anyone again"

"Hey," Aria said gently "If you never trusted us, we wouldn't be here"

"Yeah, everyone makes mistakes" Shane consoled

"First that bike guy, then Marah-"

"Hey, don't blame yourself" Hunter reassured

"That girl is bad news" Blake said

"It was just, something about her eyes, they seemed do sincere"

Now the tears were threating to come out, even after this whole thing Dustin was still hung up about her. Quietly, she snuck out of Storm Chargers and found a guy with Dustin's bike.

"Hey, I'm looking for an Aria Bradley" the guy asked

Blinking away tears she said "Uh yeah, that's me, you the guy I talked to last night?"

"Yeah, the printer messed up the address, sorry about that"

"It's cool, he's inside, excuse me" she said as she walked past him and headed to her spot on the beach

Inside, he asked for Dustin and explained the whole issue with his business cards.

"You have no idea how stoked I am right now!" Dustin said

Hunter spoke up "How'd you know he'd be here?"

"Oh, your friend, uh, Aria contacted me, said to meet here" the guy explained

Dustin looked back to his friends to say thanks to her but she was gone, "Oh where'd she go?"

"Oh I saw her leaving just now, she looked upset or something"

All six glanced at each other, only Tori and Hunter seemed to know why she was so upset.

Dustin decided to try and find her to say thanks so he bolted out the store and began looking all over Blue Bay, the track, the woods, the quarry, before finding her on a secluded cliff on the beach.

 **-Her Spot-**

Aria sat on top of the boulder with her guitar resting on her leg, she had tied her wild hair up and began playing and singing her latest song.

 _Closed off from love, I didn't want the pain  
Once or twice was enough, but it was all in vain  
Time starts to pass, before I know it, I'm frozen_

From behind her she felt a presence, not many people knew about this place since this was also where the rangers trained a lot so she knew it could only be one of six people so she kept singing

 _But something happened, for the very first time with you  
My heart melts into the ground, found something true  
And I'm just looking round, thinking I'm going crazy_

 _But I don't know what to say  
I'm in love with you I try to push it away, but I know the truth  
My heart's crippled by the vein, that I keep on closing  
You cut me open and I_

 _Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love  
I keep bleeding, I keep, keep bleeding love  
Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love  
You cut me open_

Tears slowly fell down her face and she quickly wiped them away, "You can come out now"

"How'd you know I was here?" she heard Dustin ask

"I'm a ninja remember? Always aware of my surroundings" she stated simply, she was building her walls again

"It's a nice song"

"Thanks…"

"Oh um, thanks for getting my bike"

"I told you I'd help you didn't I?"

There an awkward pause before Dustin asked this question, "So, what's the song about?"

"I think you know Dustin, it's about you" she admitted

"What?" he asked in disbelief, he didn't think she felt that way about him

"Before I met you, my guard was always up, I didn't want to let anyone in and risk getting hurt. But when I met you, it sounds cliché, but I felt something, I can't explain it."

"You said you were hurt before…what happened?"

"Well…my parents' passing away was one but the other was my first heartbreak."

"When was that?"

"Yesterday, when you were talking about Marah"

"Ri, I'm-"

"Its fine," she began as she put her guitar back in its case "It doesn't matter"

"Hey wait, Ri"

"What?"

"I'm sorry"

"Why are you sorry?"

"For not realizing what was standing right in front of me"

"What?" she asked in surprise

"You're always there for me, you went out of your way to help find my bike, you don't think I'm just an airhead, and you're also a total badass with a huge heart." He reached out to grab her hand "And I'm sorry I didn't see that earlier"

"I don't know what to say…but I'm just happy you actually feel the same way"

"So…what does this mean?" he asked laughing a bit

"Take me out first and we'll see" she said with a laugh. She picked up her guitar case and they walked off the beach; hand in hand.

(A/N: AAAAAHHHHHH I love this chapter and I hope you guys too. Longest chapter! It may not be the best version of the episode but it's what I came up with so please no hate. REVIEW AND FOLLOW PLEASE)


	21. Chapter 20

_(Disclaimer: I do not own PRNS….only Aria Bradley)_

(A/N: the song on the previous chapter is "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis; however I did alter some lyrics)

 **Chapter 20: Tongue and Cheek**

 **-Storm Chargers-**

After their moment on the beach a couple of weeks ago Aria and Dustin have gotten much closer, in fact she had been more open with her feelings, smiling more instead of small grins and smirks. She had also even forgotten about her…other powers; however, she didn't know what to call this 'relationship'. Things were still crazy with their 'other job' just last week Cam had created a device that was meant to turn Sensei back into a human but instead caused him to switch bodies with Shane and Dustin.

Speaking of Dustin, Aria was waiting for him to get off work when a hefty business guy walked in. The two rangers slowly inched closer and heard Kelly reject his offer to buy the small store, they glared at the guy and watched as he walked off.

Later that evening Aria was still waiting for Dustin, not that she minded, she enjoyed helping around the shop.

"Later!" the two of them said as Kelly was about to walk out

"You guys don't mind locking up?"

"No, I just have some stuff to finish up" Dustin confirmed

"See you tomorrow!"

After she left the two of them headed to the back to finish up some work when Aria heard the door open and multiple hushed voices.

"Psst, Dustin….what do we do?"

He thought for a second and stepped farther back from Aria

"Oh fuck no…" she said as he morphed.

She watched as Dustin stopped one of the guys from ripping a skateboard off the wall. She had to admit that the guys' faces were pretty hilarious. They scrambled to the door but were stopped again by Dustin's double.

"Guess you didn't see the 'closed' sign" he said to the group of guys "Now go back and tell your boss the shop's not for sale!" they guys tried to run out the door but were stopped again "After you put that back" he said motioning to the surfboard in one of the robber's hands.

At that moment Kelly walked in "Dustin, I forgot my-wow a power ranger" she breathed

"Yes ma'am now you have any more problems with these guys. MOVE IT!" the robbers left leaving only Kelly and Dustin in the shop

"Uh, thanks!"

"No problem!" he said before he streaked out the door, seconds later he and Aria appeared from the back

"Did you guys see that?" she asked

"What?" they both said

 **-Next Day: Ninja Ops-**

Dustin and the other Winds were in Ops the next day, he had just told the others about the appearance of the Yellow Wind Ranger at Storm Chargers

"Lucky you were there to help Kelly" Shane said

"Yeah, hopefully those boneheads won't come back"

"Your actions were noble Dustin," Sensei said "but using your ninja powers for everyday situations could have serious consequences"

"Sensei, we fight Lothor's goons all the time!" Dustin said, trying to reason with the guinea pig "What's the big deal helping out a friend?"

Aria soon walked in followed by her two brothers holding the latest newspaper

"Hey check this out" Hunter said with concern

"Our boy here's a celebrity!" Blake joked

The headline said 'Blue Bay Seeing Yellow: Is Yellow Going Solo?'

"Kelly must've told a reporter what you did" Aria thought out loud "It's all over the newspapers"

Tori read out the headline causing Dustin to laugh and smile while Shane started to read the article

"While the city has grown used to the heroics of the Power Rangers, this is the first time one has stepped forward on his own"

The three Bradleys looked at each other, having read the article already they knew what was going to be said about Dustin next

"Could this be a sign of things to come as Yellow going solo?" Tori followed

"Hey that's stupid!" Dustin exclaimed "Why would I-"

He was cut off by the computer, it wasn't the alarm signaling an attack but instead it was a flood of fan mail coning through

"What's up with the computer?" Blake asked as the six rangers ran over to Cam

"I've been keeping tabs on some of the fan sites, yellow ranger just got fifteen thousand letters and counting!"

"They're all for him?" Shane asked in shock

"Don't be so shocked" he replied with slight arrogance

"Hey it's jamming the system!" Aria pointed out "It's gonna crash!"

As she said those words the supercomputer sparked, smoked, and shut down

"Do us a favor Dustin, next time you decide to become famous, tell your fans to send letters the old fashion way…with stamps" she added with annoyance. Dustin just smiled and lightly laughed.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Shane, Hunter, Blake, and Aria all walked into Storm Chargers and were shocked to see how packed the small store was

"Hey guys!" Kelly greeted brightly

"What's the deal Kel?" Aria asked

"Ever since Yellow Ranger made his debut appearance, I can't keep people away! It's kinda crazy but it's great for business"

"What? Just 'cause Yellow Ranger was here? He's not even like, the Red one" Shane said only to receive shoves from the guys and a smack up the head from Aria

"I don't know…there's something a man in yellow" Kelly smiled as she walked away

Aria had to stop herself from laughing at that statement. Seconds later Dustin appeared from the back room.

"Oh man, I lost track of time! Let me wash up!" he said before disappearing again

Shane had a demo that day and Dustin was supposed to come watch

"So what are you guys gonna do while me and Dustin are at the skate park?"

Hunter reached into his back pocket and brought out a folded letter

"It's from our adopted grandmother"

"Yeah, we've never met her before but we hear she's really sick" Aria said with concern and worry

"You guys gonna visit her?"

"That's the problem" Blake sighed "She lives like really far away"

"Hey you think Sensei will let us use the Ninja Red Eye?" Hunter whispered (A/N: Can someone explain to me what that is?) "If you know what I mean?"

"One way to find out" Shane shrugged

The three of them said their goodbyes and left to go ask Sensei

 **-Ninja Ops-**

They handed the Ninja Master the letter and waited for him to make his decision

"Can we go Sensei?" Aria asked

"As you know, Ninja Skills are only to be used for the betterment of humanity,"

The Bradleys cringed at those words thinking he wouldn't let them go

"And I believe caring for your family certainly falls into that category" he finished, causing those cringes to turn into smiles.

"Thank you Sensei!" Blake said brightly

"We'll be careful" Hunter reassured

"You must be. We cannot afford another situation like the one Dustin has got himself into"

Aria groaned, "Ugh, don't remind me…" she looked over at Cam "You cool with fixing the computer by yourself?"

"Yeah, I should be done in a couple of hours…go ahead"

"Thanks Cam!"

With that, she and her brothers were off to visit their grandma.

 **-Unknown-**

(A/N: Couldn't think of a location for this scene)

Aria and her brothers were almost at their grandmother's when she got a call from Tori

"Hey guys hold on a sec!" she said as she picked up the phone "Um, hey T is something wrong?" this prompted Tori to give full blown rant to the Black Thunder Ninja about how Dustin was letting fame get to his head and how he and Shane were at each other's throats, when Tori was finally done Aria had an annoyed look on her face "T, tell him to smarten the hell up before I beat his ass" she finished as she hung up

Her brothers looked at her with eyebrows raised

"Long story…." She said as they continued walking

 **-Dark Forest-**

Aria had just finished telling her brothers what Tori told her

"So Dustin and Shane are pissed at each other because Dustin went off to fight an alien without telling Shane and Dustin thinks Shane is just jealous of all the attention is getting?" Blake asked

"Essentially yes; and apparently he's doing phone interviews now" Aria said with an eye roll

"Ok can we change the subject really quick?" Hunter asked out of the blue

"Um….ok"

"Is there something going on between you and Dustin?"

Aria stopped in her tracks and looked at her older brother

"Um…."

"Is there Ri?" Blake added

"I don't really see the big deal here" she finally said

Her brothers stared at her with wide eyes

"What?"

"When did this happen?" Hunter demanded

"During the whole Beevil incident, I really don't see the big deal…" she replied as she started walking again

"The big deal is that you're dating our best friend!" Blake answered

"He's too old for you too!" Hunter added

"Wow, one year! You're right Hunter, _way_ too old" something a couple yards away caught her eye and she stopped beside an old tree

"Ri-" Hunter started again

"Hold on…" she cut him off as she focused her attention to an old house in the middle of the forest "Look"

"Hey that must be the place!" Blake said

"No, I think it might be another house in the middle of the woods dude" Aria said sarcastically

Ignoring her Blake continued "Looks like something out of a fairy tale"

"A grim one maybe…" she added

"Let's just get down there, I hope grandma's alright…" Hunter said as he led them down to the house

"Grandma!" Aria called out as the three reached the front of the house

"Blake? Hunter? Aria? Is that you? Come closer so I can see" their grandma said in a shaky voice

Aria then got more self-conscious about what she was wearing, this was the first time they ever met her and she knew some people thought her style was a bit…much; so Aria closed her black and gray flannel to try and cover her purple crop top. Thankfully she chose to wear jeans instead of her usual black shorts.

However, as they got nearer they finally got a good look at the old woman. She had a big nose and curly…pink hair?

"Grandma what a big-" Blake began

"Dude, go easy!" Hunter warned

"Uh, pair of glasses you have?"

"All the better to see you with my dear" Their grandma said

"Well apparently we're in little Red Riding Hood now" Aria mumbled

"What big pink hair you have?" Blake continued as he circled around the old lady

"All the better to tease you with my dear" the lady said as she fluffed her hair, knocking her glasses off as well as…her nose?

"What the fuck…"Aria mouthed to Hunter

"Ugh, what's with the nose?" Hunter said to Blake

This started a quick conversation between her two oblivious brothers, but for Aria she noticed the front door was open and that someone was inside. The person inside let out a small giggle and she knew exactly who it was. The pink hair, the nose, it was so obvious it was sad she didn't notice before. Summoning a ball of lightning she hurled it at the door to reveal Marah. Kapri shot up from her chair and ripped the disguise off. The three of them got into their fighting stances

"Ri! What just happened?" Blake asked

"I just proved once again why I'm the smart one out of us three" she replied as a group of Kelzaks and a new alien appeared

"ATTACK!" the sisters commanded

They defeated the Kelzaks easily and all that was left was Lothor's latest goon, Slob Goblin.

"Time for my stamp of approval!" he said

"Not so fast!" Hunter commanded

"This one's marked return to sender" Blake added

"Oh really?"

"THUNDERSTORM"

However, they never finished their morphing call as Slob Goblin's giant tongue shot out and transformed them into stamps.

"Huh?"

"Blake? Ri?"

"What the hell?!"

 **-Ninja Ops-**

"I'm worried about Dustin," Shane spoke to Tori "I mean all the attention's gone to his head, if it gets any bigger-"

"What?" they heard Dustin say angrily as he walked into Ops "There'd be no room in here for the rest of you?"

"Something like that…" Shane sighed

"I think you're just jealous and dude green is not your colour"

"Well it is my colour dude," Cam said from the computer "and I think Shane has a point for what it's worth"

"Typical, everyone thinks Dustin can't be right!" he exclaimed in frustration

"This isn't about who's right Dustin it's about doing what's right" Tori reasoned but Dustin just rolled his eyes

"We are all pleased you have gained the world's attention Dustin but how you use that attention is what's important" Sensei

Dustin pretended to think about but just ignored what everyone had to say "Hmm, thanks for your concern but I think I'm doing just fine. I gotta go I have to take a call from my agent."

"Agent?" Tori exasperated

"I can only imagine what Ri would've said" Shane thought out loud

"I believe her words were 'Tell him to smarten up before I beat his ass' "

"That's not the only problem" Cam said

"I've just lost all trace of the Thunders…"

 **-Later-**

About a half hour later Cam was able to find the last known location of the Thunders "I've traced the Thunders' DNA, they disappeared off the map here, and reappeared…there!" he said as he showed satellite footage of Slob Goblin at a construction site

"Lothor' post monster general" Shane grumbled

"Must've gone postal on Hunter, Blake, and Ri" Tori said "Let's go"

"Someone beat you to it" Cam said as he pulled up a video of Dustin facing off Slob Goblin

"How'd he get there already?"

"Hey, he's the great Yellow Ranger remember? Of course he's there first"

"Shane, I seem to remember that before you and Dustin were Rangers, you were good friends. It would be a shame to los that" their Sensei said

Shane bowed his head, and hurried out with Tori.

 **-Construction Site-**

"HOLD IT!" Shane cried out as he and Tori arrived just as Dustin was about to morph

"Mind if we crash your party?" Tori asked

"Hey don't answer that 'cause we already did" Shane said bitterly as he and Dustin glared at each other

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!" however, because Dustin and Shane were fighting to be in the center the morph took longer than usual

"Power of Air"

"Earth"

"Water"

"Hey! What've you done with our friends?" Tori demanded

"I've stamped them out! And you're about to be next!" Slob Goblin announced as he blasted at the Winds. Tori cartwheeled away while Shane pushed Dustin aside. Shane got up and attack the monster using his Ninja Air Attack. Behind him, Dustin was gliding on his stomach and attacked, knocking him to the ground.

"He's mine!" Dustin growled as he faced Shane "Back off!"

"Listen to me!"

"No I'm tired of listening to you!" Dustin shouted as he grabbed Shane

"Now you guys are being ridiculous!" Tori yelled over the two boys' arguing

"Dustin, he has Aria and her brothers!" Shane finally yelled

Dustin stopped shaking Shane "What?"

Before Shane could answer back Slob Goblin shot out his tongue and grabbed a hold of Tori.

"Tori!" the boys shouted

"Thanks to you, I gotta new blue stamp!" the monster announced as he blasted at the boys again.

"I gotta help her! And Ri!" Dustin said

"You?" Shane demanded thinking Dustin just wanted more attention

"Ugh, this whole thing was my fault"

"If that's the way you want it, take this" Shane said handing his friend his Hawk Blaster

"What? Your Hawk Blaster?"

"If you really don't want my help, then you'll need all the fire power you can get"

"Wait, I don't wanna go in alone" Dustin decided as he handed the blaster back to Shane

After coming to an agreement the two friends teamed up against the Slob Goblin, destroying him.

"That's for kidnapping my girlfriend" Dustin said as the alien blew up

Then Slob Goblin grew, the rangers destroyed him with the megazord and freed everyone from the stamps (A/N: you get the pattern…)

 **-Dark Forest-**

After what felt like forever the Bradleys, and their grandmother, were all returned to where they were when they got turned into stamps.

When they were freed Aria looked to her grandmother with a smile "Grandma, are you alright?" with a smile and nod Aria couldn't help but feel a rush of joy knowing her family was alright. But she also had a good feeling about something she couldn't really put a finger on.

 **-Next Day: Ninja Ops-**

When Aria got back from her grandmother's she and Dustin went out on another date to catch up a little on what happened the day before. Together, they walked in to Ninja Ops hand in hand

"So how's seeing your grandma?" Dustin asked

"She's so cool! She's feeling much better now as well. She wasn't even fazed by the monster attack! That's one tough lady!" she laughed. Dustin laughed along with her. "So," Aria continued with a smirk "I'm your girlfriend now?"

"Shane told you?" Dustin cringed

Aria nodded her head with a smile

"Sorry-"

"The only thing you should be sorry about, is not calling me that sooner" she joked as they laughed together again

From behind them Shane, Tori, and Aria's brothers walked up with the latest newspaper in hand

"Hey, check it out!" Shane said

"Hey that's us!" Dustin said excitedly

"'Rangers Continue to Stifle Crime'" Aria read out loud

"Front cover bro!" Shane continued happily

"Hey the press did show!" Dustin noticed

From his habitat Sensei spoke up "Fortunately, they seemed to have missed the part where you opened your visors"

The Wind Rangers just laughed nervously at the thought of getting caught.

"I'm through with being a celebrity" Dustin said shaking his head "From now on, it's all for one and one for all"

Shane, deciding to mess with Dustin one last time, leaned over and whispered something to the Bradley brothers

"WHAT?!" they both yelled at the same time causing the others to stare at them then back at Shane

"Oh you didn't…"Aria said

Dustin, as usual, was the last person to catch on but finally realized how much trouble he was in with the Thunder Brothers. He laughed nervously before taking off running, followed by Hunter and Blake.

Shane and the other's busted out laughing, unfortunately for Shane however, Aria had fixed her terrifying glare on him. "Hey T, I think I found my new target for knife throwing" she said darkly, causing Shane to take off as well, followed closely by the Black Thunder Ninja. This just caused the remaining people/rodents in Ops to laugh harder.

(A/N: Not my best chapter….but oh well. Dustin and Aria are finally together! Please check the poll in my profile for one of my future chapters. And pleaseREVIEW/FOLLOW)


	22. Chapter 21

_(Disclaimer: PRNS aint mine, Aria is...)_

 **Chapter 21: Brothers (and sister) In Arms**

 **-Track-**

The Bradleys had gone to track for the majority of the day; the three of them had signed up for Kelly's team, seeing they ditched her the first time she asked them, and were participating in a race. As usual the three siblings were in the lead. Hunter had managed to pull up ahead leaving his little brother and sister to follow him but his bike started to spark and smoke. Hunter rode his bike off the track leaving Aria and Blake trying to beat each other. Aria shot forwards and cheered as she crossed the finish line, Blake followed seconds after.

They took their helmets off and saw Hunter hunched over his smoking bike, when he turned and saw that his little siblings won the race he shook his head in frustration. The two other Bradleys and Kelly walked over to the crimson rider.

"Sounded like a top end" Kelly pointed out

"Ah, I let go on the last straight" Hunter chided himself

"Think you can rebuild it before the next moto?" the red head asked

"No way, I've never done one in less than five hours!"

"What about you Ri?"

"Sorry, I may be able to tune up a bike, but computers are what I'm best at" Aria said

"I'm tellin' you guys if want to go pro, you need someone to wrench up your bikes"

"M'kay, there isn't a mechanic in the world who can fix this thing in enough time" Blake reminded

From behind them a new voice spoke "I-I'll give it a try"

The four turned to see a lanky man with slicked brown hair clutching a red toolbox to his chest.

"You think you can do it less than two hours?" Hunter asked unsure

"Sure!" the man said shyly

"That's impossible man! But if you think you can do, go for it man!" Blake said

Hunter surrendered his bike to the strange man and let him work.

 **-Hours Later-**

Blake and Aria were waiting with Hunter for his bike. The next race was about to start in a few minutes and Hunter was getting even more anxious.

"All set!" the mechanic from earlier said as he pulled up Hunter's bike "Oh and I adjusted the flow on your pilot jet, you were running it a bit rich"

Hunter started up his bike and smiled at the sound of its engine roaring.

"Sounds like you'll make moto number two" Aria said with a smirk as she put her helmet back on.

Hunter turned around to say thank you but the mechanic disappeared.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

The three of them headed back to Storm Chargers to show off Hunter's new trophy

"First place!" he said happily as he showed Dustin his trophy

"Oh hey you did it!" he replied as he reached out to grab it; Hunter retracted his new prized possession before he could

"Yeah, checked out on the second lap" Aria stated proudly as she went to hug her boyfriend.

"Hard to think you're getting faster" Dustin commented

"Yeah, that's part of it. But it felt like I was riding a Factory Bike out there"

"Yeah that freaky guy hooked you up" Blake said in agreement

"What freaky guy?" asked Dustin

"Uh, skinny, kinda nerdy lookin?" Blake described

"He did a whole rebuild in a couple of hours" Aria added

"That'd be Perry" Dustin smiled as he started walking away towards the front of the store "He's this total moto genius, a little trippy though"

"You know him?" Blake asked in surprise. Dustin smiled and nodded his head as he went back to work. "So, where does he live?"

"Um, out of town in that creepy area down by the train tracks"

The three of them came to a silent agreement to head over there later today.

 **-Train Tracks-**

The Bradleys found the spot easily and walked in on Perry working on something in a dark, creepy workshop

"Perry!" Blake called "We've been looking for you"

"W-w-what are you guys doing here?" he asked nervously as the three of them looked around the dark workshop

"You ever thought about hooking up with a team?" Hunter asked "We'd go pretty far, the four of us working together"

Aria couldn't help but feel like something bad was going to happen with this guy. Maybe it was the dark, cluttered space or how nervous and creepy this Perry seemed to be but something didn't feel right. She clung to her necklace and just kept quiet.

"I'm pretty busy at the moment working on some special projects. Projects that could revolutionize the motorcycle industry" Perry explained nervously

"Look, we promise not to take up all your time" Hunter tried to reason

"I-I-I-I can't I'm sorry"

Blake decided to push farther "Come on Perry, it's not pretty when Hunter starts to beg, don't let it come to that"

"O-ok F-fine," Perry surrendered "I'll meet you guys at the track and we'll talk about it"

"Great"

In the corner of the shop there was something covered by a shiny silver tarp "Hey, this is one of your projects?" Aria asked as she reached for it and uncovered it, revealing the back end of a bike.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Perry cried

Aria felt a force push her back a little and she collapsed into Hunter's arms. "Whoa, what just happened?"

"I-I'll see you later on!" Perry said as he practically shoved the three of them out the door.

When they left Aria looked to her brothers, "Uh, I gotta go to Ops really quick. I'll catch you guys later."

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Aria walked into Ops and thankfully only found Cam and his dad by the computer; all the other rangers were out doing their own thing today

"Sensei, can I speak to you really quick?" Aria asked shyly "Alone…"

Cam got the message and left leaving the guinea pig and Aria in private

"What is it Aria?" he asked gently

"Um, something weird just happened…my brothers and I went to thank Perry, the guy who helped fix Hunter bike, and when we were there I just felt like something was wrong."

"A ninja's greatest weapon is her instinct. Perhaps Cam could help you investigate"

"It's not just that Sensei, something weird happened in there" she took a deep breath and clutched onto her necklace "Perry said he was working on something, and as we were leaving I saw a covered bike but when I touched it…it was like an invisible force pushed me back"

"Hmm, that is unusual"

"What do you think happened?"

"It seems your dark powers," Aria cringed at those words "have evolved to be able to detect dark forces"

"But how come this has never happened before? Those powers only came back once since Portico Island. I kinda forgot I had them" she admitted

After a few minutes of silence Sensei took a deep breath "Aria there is a-"

"Oh hey Ri!" Dustin said as he and the other Winds came in. Aria smiled brightly and walked up to them

"Another time…" Sensei said to himself

"Hey guys!" she greeted brightly

Cam had come out of his room and went back to the computer; he was followed by the four rangers as all five of them crowded the computer

"Whoa check out metal head!" Aria exclaimed as a gold robot dressed in a brown cloak walked out of an abandoned building

"Whoa what is that?" Dustin asked

"You better get out there and see what this guy is all about" Cam suggested as the four of lined up to morph

"On it, Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

The four of them got on their Tsunami Cycles and rode off to locate the new monster in town.

 **-Abandoned Building-**

The four rangers pulled up in front of the gold robot, "Hey! Wanna put in a few hot laps?" Shane asked from his Tsunami Cycle

"Be my guest, but be prepared to eat dirt!" the robot cried before it ripped of its brown cloak "You're not the only ones with a bike!" Before the alien appeared a bike with flame designs all over it. The robot revved its engines and took off towards the four of them

"Let's get this poser!" Aria called as she and the others revved their own engines

The robot fired at them but only hit the ground. This proved to be a diversion because it caused smoke to cloud their vision; they didn't see the robot jump from his bike and kick all four of them to the ground. Cam soon appeared and he saw his friends on the ground trying to get back up.

"Hang on guys! SUPER SAMURAI MODE!"

The green ranger tried to take on this new monster but was only taken down as well. The others managed to get up and ran towards their fallen friend.

"What? This is just then beginning!" he taunted

One by one the rangers tried to fight this new enemy. Their attacks were ineffective and they were being tossed like ragdolls. Soon the two other Thunder Rangers came riding in on the battle scene.

"What's going on?" Hunter asked

"He went inside!" Shane told the Navy and Crimson Rangers. The two took off running inside the building

"Hey! Wait up dude!" Aria said as she stood up and followed her brothers

Using their Thunder Staffs the three of them found their target and started attacking. When one Bradley fell another stood up and fought. After being tossed aside again Hunter got fed up "Crimson Blaster!" he called as he shot at the robot. However, he swatted the blasts away as if they were a bunch of flies. He walked up to Hunter and twisted his arm to release the blaster

"Who are you what do you want?" Hunter demanded

"They call me Motodrone" he replied before scratching Hunter across his chest "Now you'll find out what I want!"

Hunter was knocked to the ground but was able to slash Motodrone across his knee making him stumble backwards. Motodrone stumbled away and disappeared as Blake and Aria found their big brother groaning on the ground,

"Hunter! Are you okay?" Aria asked as Blake helped him up a little

Hunter just groaned in pain and clutched his stomach

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Back at Ops, all the rangers were standing around the computer as Cam and Aria looked into who this Motodrone was.

"This is the weirdest thing…" Cam said

"What is it?" Tori questioned

"We've been running tests on Motodrone and there's traces of human DNA in that thing" Aria answered

"No way…you mean that thing is human?" Shane asked in disbelief

"Not exactly, it looks like some kind of mutation"

"Then it's not one of Lothor's goons" Blake concluded

"No, we won't be able to find out who it is until the computer goes through the database" Cam said as he kept typing at the computer

"Until then you must take care in dealing with this creature." Sensei advised "We don't know what he is capable of"

 **-Track-**

The three siblings were at the track waiting for Perry to show up and talk about forming a team

"Perry told us to meet here right?" Blake asked

"Yeah, but if hadn't noticed, that guy's a little whack" Aria pointed out

"Nah man he's all right" her brothers laughed

Soon after Perry showed up limping with his tool box

"Hey guys!" he called

"There you are!" Hunter greeted

"Hey you alright?" Aria asked motioning to Perry's leg

"Oh, y-yeah I'm fine. Let's get started!"

The three of them looked at one another in uncertainty then back at Perry who was kneeling by Blake's bike. But before Perry could do anything he started shaking and twitching. He stood up and stumbled away from the Bradleys

"Yo Perry where you going?" Hunter called, but he just kept going knocking chairs aside and running into people

"Ok…so he's a little freaky…"Blake admitted

"Oh really?" Aria said sarcastically earing a headlock from Blake. a few minutes later Hunter's morpher beeped.

"Motodrone's back!" Cam said

"We'll handle it" Hunter responded before they took off

 **-Abandoned Building-**

The three Bradleys rode up to Motodrone's location on their Tsunami Cycles and were greeted by the gold robot on his own bike.

They tried to fire lasers at him but it didn't work as planned, soon Motodrone chased them down a narrow alley.

"We gotta get him outta here!" Hunter commanded

"I'm with you!" Blake responded

"Right behind ya!" Aria added before all three rode off in different directions. Motodrone continued to follow Hunter

"I've got you now!" He yelled as he fired blasts of red out of his eyes. Motodrone's attacks didn't hit Hunter directly, but they did shake him up a bit.

The three of them met up again to face Motodrone together. He rode past the Thunders and struck each of them in the chest with his blade, causing them all to crash. The three of them shakily stood back up again only to receive another blast from Motodrone and get knocked back down.

"I can't take much more you guys" Blake groaned

"Let me handle this guy" Hunter said, slowly standing back up again

"Give it up Thunder Ranger!" Motodrone sneered from his bike

Hunter ran up to attack only to disappear in a flash of bright yellow light before his younger siblings' eyes.

"HUNTER!" Blake and Aria cried

"Bye bye" Motodrone laughed before also disappearing in a flash of light

Blake tried to stand up to his feet "No! COME BACK!" only to collapse to his knees. Aria was kneeling on the ground beside him; her visor was open and she had a few tears coming down her face. Her eyes were starting to blacken but slowly returned back to normal when the Winds came.

"You guys okay?" Tori asked as she and Dustin helped the fallen Thunders up

"What happened?" Shane asked in concern

"Hunter! He's gone" Blake stated

Dustin hugged Aria closer as she stared at where Hunter had just been standing second before.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Cam was manning the computer trying to find Motodrone's identity, Blake was pacing behind him and continuously asking where Hunter was, and Aria was fiddling with her necklace and trying to keep calm. Dustin was rubbing her back to try and help.

When Cam finally found out who Motodrone really was, everyone, except maybe Aria, was surprised to see Perry's face on the screen.

"Perry," Blake said "I know where Hunter is"

"I knew something was up with that guy" Aria said darkly as she walked with Blake to the exit

"Blake, Aria, I know your brother is in danger, but remember so is Perry. If you don't destroy the Motodrone technology soon, it absorb Perry and he will be gone forever." Sensei warned

"Don't worry" was all the two Thunders said before bolting out of Ops. Aria was trying her best to keep her cool, but she was slowly losing that battle. Motodrone took someone from her family, and nobody messes with her family.

 **-Abandoned Building-**

The plan was simple; Cam and the Winds were to distract Motodrone while the Thunders raced inside the workshop to rescue their big brother. When the four rangers left with Motodrone Blake and Aria snuck inside.

When they got inside they found Hunter sweaty, drained, and attached to some weird machine.

"You okay?" Blake asked as he and Aria released him from the contraption.

"Took you long enough to get here" he said "Motodrone it's-"

"Perry" Aria interrupted "Yeah, we know"

Hunter tried to stand up only to gently pushed back by his little brother "No, no, no sit this one out" Blake looked to Aria "Make sure he's okay?"

"Of course" with that Blake rushed out to help their friends. Aria finally got a good look at the machine Hunter was attached to "Crazy set up"

Hunter laughed at his little sister, "Is that nerd envy I'm hearing?"

"Ha ha funny" Aria said with an eye roll before quickly tying her hair up and moved over to the control panel

"He used my Ranger energy to power that bike; I think to turn it into some kind of weapon"

Aria began working on the panel to try and help Hunter restore his energy and possibly get a new bike. "He only took a bit of your energy. If I can redirect the power, it could get you back on your feet"

"What about the bike?"

Aria's signature smirk appeared on her face "I got you bro"

Soon enough Hunter's energy was restored and his new bike was complete. Together they morphed and headed out. They appeared before Cam and the Winds who had been fighting Zurgane and a group of Kelzaks; Aria was on her Tsunami cycle and Hunter rode in on his new Ninja Glider Cycle. Aria leapt off her own bike to help her friends up while Hunter easily took care of the Kelzaks.

"Hey guys guess what? I made a few adjustments to Perry's bike" Aria informed her friends; they all ooh-ed and ahh-ed at her achievement before she realized something, "Where's Blake?"

Before she got a response Hunter had defeated all the Kelzaks and the five other rangers ran up to him. He repeated Aria's question, "Where's Blake?"

"He went after Perry!" Tori answered just as Blake appeared at the very edge of a cliff. They watched as Blake was blasted off the cliff. However, Hunter managed to get to the cliff as well and activate the glider mode on his bike. He grabbed Blake by the arm and brought him back to the ground before heading back up to take Motodrone on.

Their battle was quick, Motodrone shot first before receiving heavy hits from Hunter on his Glider Bike. Soon, he was able to destroy Motodrone's bike, releasing Perry from the corrupted technology.

Quickly she and the others de-morphed and ran up to Hunter and the fallen Perry.

"Hey you okay?" she heard Hunter ask the mechanic

"Aw man, what happened?" he asked

Blake ran up to help "You fell off your bike" Blake lied

"I can't remember anything…"

"You're okay now" Tori gently reassured

"Aw my head, I feel like I've been living a bad dream."

"I can relate" Hunter said

"W-wait a minute, in my dream you guys were Power Rangers…"

"Yeah right," Aria laughed coolly "Power Rangers? Who'd make these two Power Rangers?" she teased as she motioned to her brothers

"Hey I'd make a great Ranger!" Hunter said defensively

"A-a-actually, I can't imagine any of you as Rangers…"

The seven of them laughed nervously and walked down the hill with Perry.

 **-Track-**

The three Bradleys walked up to Perry who was currently working on Aria's bike, "I thought you were done with bikes" Aria said

"I'm just putting special projects on hold…" he said guiltily "I took the rest of the Motodrone processor to the scrap yard. Guess there's no such thing as a perfect rider."

"Or a perfect bike…" Blake added

"Actually, the Power Rangers were pretty impressed with my Glider Cycle"

Hunter shook his head with a laugh while Aria spoke up, "Again with the Power Rangers…"

"No seriously! They came around the garage and I gave it to them. They're gonna use it to fight bad guys" Perry added before walking away

"Well it was more like we stole it…" Aria said when he was out of earshot, causing the three of them to burst into laughter.

(A/N: I have a love hate relationship with this chapter….i wish everyone had a happy new year. Please check the poll on my profile, so far only one person voted so be sure to check it out. REVIEW/FOLLOW as always! 3)


	23. Chapter 22

_(Disclaimer: you know it already...)_

 **Chapter 22: Shane's Karma parts I and II**

 **-Ninja Ops-**

After an intense training session the seven rangers slowly made their way inside Ops, slowly removing their hot leather uniforms.

"Man I'm worked" Dustin complained as he walked in

"Ten mile run, two fight simulations, and an obstacle course" Blake stated

"Don't forget two hours of hard meditation…" Hunter reminded

"Because God forbid we forget all that" Aria grumbled as she shrugged off her gloves and jacket.

"That's the best you got?" he teased, Aria just flipped him off and plopped down onto the table. Dustin chuckled at his girlfriend's behavior before turning to Shane who was hunched over and had dark circles under his eyes

"Dude you look tired! Training finally getting to ya?"

"Ugh, I'm not getting a lot of sleep. I keep having this weird dream…"

"Dreams can tell you a lot about yourself…"Aria said suddenly. Her friends gave her weird looks before she sat up again, "Am I the only who pays attention to what Sensei says?"

"Speaking of dad, where is he?" Cam said as he looked around Ops

Aria slowly stood up from the table and headed over to the mini habitat. Tori met her there and they found a small note left on the side.

"Look!"

"Rangers, I have gone on a meditation retreat to reflect on and recharge my inner ninja. In my absence please enjoy a well-deserved day off." Tori read out loud.

Aria and the guys cheered at the thought of having a day to themselves

"Well I'm thinking the track then a movie, or a movie then the track…" Dustin wondered

Tori seemed like something was bothering her so Blake asked "Hey Tor what's the matter? Come on; don't tell me you can't deal with a day off!"

"No a day off sounds great! _Especially_ tomorrow, I just thought Sensei would be around for…you know" Tori said smiling to the ground. The guys were all clueless as to what the blonde was referring to so Aria decided to help.

"Uh guys did you forget? Tomorrow, _it is your birthday!"_ she said in a sing-song voice while hugging Tori. Aria could almost see the light bulbs go off in the guys' heads and laughed at their reactions.

"How about a beach party?" Dustin suggested, prompting even more cheers to come from the group.

"What do ya say Tor?" Blake asked

"Yep, sounds good to me" she smiled

"Alright, be at the beach first thing in the morning!" Hunter said before they went their separate ways to plan for their beach day.

"Just make sure you get enough sleep tonight," Tori said to Shane "I think tomorrow might be something special after all"

 **-Next Morning: Beach-**

Blake, Hunter, and Aria were waiting in a grassy area for the others. Blake was wearing white and navy shorts with a navy swim shirt, Hunter had black and crimson short with a dark red t-shirt, and Aria was wearing a black halter bikini top under her black and grey flannel and purple short shorts, her necklace was still fastened around her neck.

When they saw Tori's blue van pull up the three of them walked up and greeted their friends.

"Has anyone seen Shane?" Tori asked in concern

Blake walked next to her, "Yeah let's get this show on the road!"

"Hey we can't leave without him, he's bringin the cake!" Dustin reminded as he pulled a bunch of crap from the van.

Seconds later Shane came running with a giant cake box in his hands, however he was wearing jean shorts, sneakers, and a red hoodie.

"Um Shane, that doesn't look like beach wear" Aria said as she took the cake from him

"Uh yeah about that…" he started nervously

Aria took this as her cue to leave so she walked over to her friends. When everything was said and done the six headed down to the beach and set up their stuff.

"You guys, did we really do the right thing?" Tori wondered aloud while everyone was getting ready to head into the water. "I mean, maybe we should've gone with Shane"

"What because he had a night mare?" Hunter asked

"I dunno maybe she's right, I mean he did seem a little tweaked" Dustin added

Aria spoke up as she tied her hair in two tight Dutch braids, "Shane's a big boy, if he needs help he'll call"

"Come on guys we're here now. It's party!" Blake reminded

"Ha ha last one in the water is a little girl!" Hunter called

Aria luckily had finished tying her hair when he said that, so she and Tori sent him their best glares. "Run…" Aria said before chasing him down with Tori. Tori tackled him into the water and Aria bent over in laughter. She let out a shrill scream when she felt someone lift her over their shoulder. "Dustin put me down!" she laughed. He ran back over to their set up and finally set her down. Tori and Hunter had returned as well, completely soaked.

When they got there Cam was talking into his amulet saying he'd be heading to Ops again.

"You're going back?" Tori asked

"Only until I figure out what's going on. With dad out of town I just feel better checking things out myself"

"I'll go with you" Aria offered, considering she was the second computer nerd of the group

"No, stay, there's nothing we could do until we know what we're dealing with" Cam said before leaving the beach

"Well maybe it' a good alien, I mean no one ever considers that possibility!" Dustin provided

Aria just patted his shoulder and shook her head.

"Hey," Blake said to Tori "don't let this get ya down. Come on! We can still have fun!"

"You're right; I guess the day's not completely ruined…"

 **-Later-**

Later on the guys were throwing a football while the girls were lying on the beach towels and talking when some stranger came up to them.

He looked to be their age but he just had that 'douchebag' look to him.

"Hey babe" he winked

Aria just glanced at him through her sunglasses before turning back to Tori

"Oh come on give me a smile" he pestered

Aria used a fake high pitched voice "Ok!" and she used her middle fingers to pull her mouth into a smile. Tori stifled a laugh but the guy kept going

"Aw don't be like that, come on" the guy said as he reached out to touch her. Before she could even respond a new voice came.

"Clearly she wants you to leave" a guy said. Aria looked up and saw a guy in black shorts and a red t-shirt standing by them.

"Hey back off dude, I saw her first"

Aria stood up and stared the guy down while poking him hard in the chest "Back away from me and my friend before I get angry, and you don't wanna see me when I'm angry" she let the tiniest bolt of lightning escape her hand and hit the guy.

The guy practically streaked away from them so she turned to the stranger who had helped her. She finally got a good look at him; he was barely taller than Blake and had tan skin, pale green eyes, and short curly hair.

"Hey, thanks for the help-"

"Nick; and you're-" he said

"Aria"

"Nice to meet you Aria"

At this moment Dustin saw Aria talking to Nick and came by, he protectively wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, "Hey you ok?"

"Oh yeah, Nick here just helped me get rid of some creep that was hitting on me" Aria informed

Being the easy-going person he was Dustin reached his hand out and smiled "Hey thanks man for helping her out"

Nick grinned and shook his hand "Uh yeah, no problem. See ya" he said awkwardly before shaking their hands goodbye and walking away.

When he left Aria felt a warm sensation coming from her necklace. She looked down at it and noticed that the ring hanging from it started glowing light purple in her hand. "Whoa…"

"Has that ever happened before?" Dustin asked

"No…never"

"Maybe you should tell Sensei" Tori advised somewhat sadly

"Nah it's fine, besides it's not like anything bad happened…" Aria continued to stare back at the ring before letting it hang back down to her chest

Eventually it stopped glowing but it stayed at the back of her mind.

The party continued, they ate, played football, and swam in the ocean before Cam contacted the five of them through Hunter's morpher

"We gotta problem," The green ranger began "as long as that ship remains cloaked-"

"I have no way to track it" C.C finished

"Any word from Shane?" Hunter asked

"The frequency's still jammed"

"He must be close to the source of the disturbance" Cyber Cam interjected again

"Let us know if anything changes" Hunter said

"Birthday or not I think we better get back" Tori suggested

"Yeah, let's get outta here before some Kelzaks show up" agreed Dustin

Aria looked past a couple of rocks and found the red and black cronies "You just had to jinx it…" she pointed out

"Let's check it out" Hunter said, taking on the leader role

They stood by the rocks and found Marah and Kapri planning some sort of party

"Hey!" Blake called "if an alien freak throws a party and nobody shows up is it still a party?"

"Aww man I hate it when they do that!" Kapri whined "C-come on"

"Yeah no wait I'm just thinking about it…" Marah said

"Hey don't hurt yourself there!" Aria taunted, causing the others to laugh at Marah's reaction

"Hey! KELZAKS!" she demanded

As the Kelzaks ran forward to attack Marah and her sister sat down on a couple of beach chairs to watch the fight.

The Rangers leapt into action, Tori flipped a table causing the minions to get knocked down, Aria and Dustin flipped over one another to beat the Kelzaks, Hunter easily flipped them over, and Blake was able to take them down with no problem.

Soon after, Dustin's morpher beeped

"Guys, we got a bigger problem" Cam informed "Zurgane's taking a new zord for a test drive and I can't access the Thunderzord's portals"

"Hey Tori, you up for a two way?"

"Oh yeah! No one ruins my birthday"

"We'll take care of this mess" Hunter said

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Power of Earth!"

"Power of Water!"

"Power of Thunder!"

Tori and Dustin took off to deal with Zurgane while the Bradley's were left to fight off the Kelzaks

With the new boost of energy from their ranger suits, the Thunders easily dodged attacks and came back with harder hits. They didn't even need their Thunder Staffs to get rid of them. in minutes the Kelzaks were all dog piled together

"Aww does this mean we have to find a new location for our reunion?" Marah complained before she, her sister, and the Kelzaks vanished

"Ugh they bailed!" Blake groaned

"Power down" Hunter commanded

"Sensei picked a bad day to take off" Aria said after they returned to their normal clothes

"Let's get back to Ops, see if the others are okay"

 **-Ninja Ops-**

After streaking back to Ops the Bradleys found Cam and the others already there

"The Storm and Samurai Star Megazords are badly damaged, it would take hours maybe days to do the repairs" Cam informed his fellow tech nerd

"What about the Thunderzords?"

"No luck accessing them yet"

Aria turned on her heel to face the others

"Some day off"

"This must be the worst birthday ever…" Dustin said

"I can't even think about that right now. I just have this really bad feeling that Shane is in trouble." Tori replied

Aria went and gave her best friend a quick hug, "I'm sure Shane is fine…" she said. In her head however she couldn't help but agree that something wasn't right.

 **-Later-**

Cam was doing everything he could to repair the zords and find Shane but nothing was really working; Aria and the others were trying to comfort Tori.

"We're sorry your birthday got messed up" Aria apologized on behalf of everyone

"I know…it's nobody's fault, except maybe Lothor's"

"Maybe we should get our stuff from the beach" Dustin suggested

"Yeah, our day off is pretty much over now" Blake agreed as they went up to leave

 **-Beach-**

The five of them were in their beachwear again and looking for their belongings

"Check out that swell! I haven't seen waves like that in weeks!" Tori groaned

"Ahh, I know what you mean! I was really looking forward to some down time" Aria agreed as she grabbed onto Dustin's hand

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute!" Blake panicked "Now I don't wanna sound paranoid here but, wasn't this where we left all our stuff?"

They looked around and noticed that Blake was right, "Oh man I can't believe our stuff got jacked! Ugh this reeks!" Dustin yelled, releasing Aria's hand, and throwing his arms in the air.

"N-n-no, wait, maybe our stuff got washed out with the tide or something" Blake wondered

"The tide hasn't come in yet" Tori informed

"So where is it then?" a frustrated Hunter said

"Hey! Look!" Aria yelled pointing to Choobo and a group of Kelzaks running away with their stuff

"That is the last straw!" Tori shouted "Nobody steals my birthday cake! Come on!"

They ran down the beach to catch up with the space freaks before stopping a few yards away. They watched in horror as the Kelzaks riffled through their belongings

"This is wrong on so many levels" Dustin mumbled

"Tori, promise me you'll never wear that bikini again!" Blake said motioning to a Kelzak wearing Tori's blue swimsuit

"No problem…" she grimaced

"Ugh, I think I threw up a little" Aria gagged

"Give us back our stuff!" Hunter demanded; the aliens just stood up and started running around like headless chickens

The Rangers ran forward and attacked. Hunter used a rolled up blanket to push the Kelzaks back, Tori caused them to fall on top one another, Blake easily leapt over the Kelzaks and donkey kicked them in the chest, Aria effortlessly flipped and dodged attacks and used their own strength against them, and Dustin was fighting Choobo for the cake which ultimately ended up all over the green alien's face.

The aliens soon left and the five of them walked away with their stuff.

"We kinda killed your cake" Hunter admitted to Tori as the group walked down the beach

"Let's just get back to Ninja Ops before anything else goes wrong…" Tori grumbled

"What's that?" Aria asked Dustin who was currently occupied with rubbing something all over his arms "sunblock?"

Her boyfriend shook his head no, "Just the opposite, Cyber Cam gave me this new sunless tanning lotion"

"Ya sure you wanna use that much?" Tori asked with a small laugh

"Oh yeah! I'm gonna be bronze god!" he announced before walking ahead

Aria leaned over to Tori "This is gonna bite him in the ass" causing both girls to start laughing

 **-Later: Ninja Ops-**

When they returned to Ops Aria was trying to help Cam locate Shane and repair the zords but ended with little success, the zords were fixed but still use in finding Shane. After a while the computer beeped and showed a video of Zurgane and his zord

"Look whose back" Aria said, causing the others to surround them

"Is the megazord fixed?" Tori asked

"Of course, we are the brains of the operation remember" "Cam said

"What about the Thunderzords?" Hunter wondered

"The energy field in the forest is weakening, we should be able to call them any second" Aria answered

"We'll meet you guys out there"

"Hopefully I'll be able to get a lock on Shane too" Cam added before Tori and Dustin morphed

A few minutes later Cam and Aria succeeded in getting the Thunderzords

"Let's go"

"Yo diggity!" Blake smiled

"Never say that again dude…" Aria said half-jokingly

"THUNDERSTORM! RANGER FORM!"

They leapt into their zords, formed the Thunder Megazord and met with the Winds on the battlefield

 **-Forest-**

When they reached the Winds, they blocked Zurgane's attack and pushed him back from their teammates.

"Welcome to the party!" Dustin quipped

"Let's get this fool!" Aria jeered

Zurgane activated his lightning mode and the Rangers prepared themselves for his attack. Dustin called for a Power Sphere that contained one half of the Minizord, but it was stolen by Zurgane.

Cam suddenly appeared in his Samurai Star Megazord and released his own Power Sphere which brought out the Spider Catcher. Cam launched the Catcher and retrieved the stolen Sphere back. He then used both as a makeshift Mace and smashed the general's zord numerous times.

"Ok guys put 'em together!" Cam commanded

Hunter called on their half of the Minizord and combined with the Winds to form the Thunderstorm Megazord. Zurgane tried to jump up and attack the rangers, but instead he was stopped by a punch by the Thunderstorm Megazord. They continued to land punches to Zurgane's zord until he fell to the ground.

"FIRE!" all six of them called as they fired three different blasters at him.

After the zord blew up, they ejected and landed on the forest floor in time to see Shane flying overhead and chasing a silver space ship

"Oh yeah go Shane!" Tori cheered

"Since when can he do that?" Aria laughed as she watched her friend and leader chase and fire lasers at the ship.

After shooting the ship down Shane landed on the ground near his friends. They ran over to the decked out red ranger at gushed over his battlizer armor.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Shane spent the next half hour telling the others what happened to him while they were at the beach. Apparently when he went to the woods he met a girl named Skyla. He said how she was the ball of light in his dream and how she was a Karmanian, an alien life form that passes down its power to whoever they deem worthy. He told them how he was her destiny and that she was his. Anyhow, the power passed on by Skyla allowed Shane to call on Battlizer Armor.

After finishing his story Shane looked down in grief as Tori, Hunter and Aria walked beside him.

"Hey you okay?" Aria asked gently

"Yeah I feel kinda bummed"

"You miss her don't you" Tori concluded

"Yeah I guess I do…"

"Skyla will always be with you Shane, her power lives through you for all eternity" Sensei said as the four of them stopped in front of his habitat

"Thanks Sensei"

"Yeah, but can we talk about that battlizer. How sick bro?!" Hunter said excitedly

Shane laughed slightly and Aria smacked her brother upside the head.

"Yeah it's pretty sick huh?" Shane agreed

"You've all done well in my absence. I am proud" Sensei praised

"Pity it had to happen on someone's birthday" Aria said motioning to Tori

"Hey no worries, there'll be more right"

"HEY!" they heard Blake call from the entrance "Day's not over yet!"

They looked over and saw him, Dustin, and Cam with a small cake for Tori.

"Well, well if it isn't the orange ranger" Tori teased as Dustin walked up. His skin was bright orange except for where his sunglasses were before.

Aria walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder "You're cute and all but just…no" she joked

"Ha ha yeah, well Cyber Cam is gonna be Cyber Toast next time I see him…"

"Hey make a wish!" Blake said still holding the cake

Tori blew out her candles and her friends and teammates cheered.

(A/N: so I decided to combine the two parts b/c these episodes were Shane/Skyla centric, hope ya don't mind. Please please PLEASE check the poll out in my profile, it's much appreciated. REVIEW?FOLLOW)


	24. Chapter 23

_(Disclaimer: is it really necessary?)_

 **Chapter 23: Shimazu Returns part 1**

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Aria, Blake, and Hunter were just outside Storm Chargers when they noticed a flyer for the show 'Totally Talented'

"No way!" Aria exclaimed excitedly

"Auditions for Totally Talented?" Blake read

"Oh dude we are so in" Hunter smiled, high-fiving his little brother

"Please tell me you're not gonna do what I think you're gonna do" Aria groaned

"What? Scared you'll lose"

"Ha no way, I'd just hate for you two to embarrass yourselves when I win" she smirked

"Hey we should tell the others!" Blake suggested

"Why?"

"So they could watch us on T.V"

"Okay one, they watch the damn show all the time, and two, they'll probably want to audition also"

"Yeah right Ri, they're not gonna try out" Hunter said with a small eye roll "Come one we're gonna miss the show"

When they entered the shop they found their friends sitting on the couches

"Yo what up guys?" Blake greeted "Where's Stu?"

"Denied…" Shane mumbled

"Ah, well I was sick of watching it anyway" Hunter joked

"Hey you didn't just bag on Stu" Dustin said

"Nah I said I was sick of watching it, not being on it!"

Aria rolled her eyes and knew that this was going to back fire on them

"Yeah what's the deal?' Shane asked as he leaned back into the couch

Blake showed them the flyer from outside, "They're looking for future stars, and that's us"

"…bullshit…" Aria coughed causing her brothers to glare at her

"Tryouts are next week" Blake continued

"What do you guys do?" Dustin asked the brothers

"Hey, we do plenty"

"Yeah but who'd wanna watch it?" Shane teased making everyone but the Thunder Brothers laugh

"Ya know Shane you have a great voice!" Tori mentioned "You should try out"

"And what about you Tori? You're a fierce dancer!"

"Hey and me?" Dustin added "Sax master extraordinaire?"

"You play sax?" Aria asked "Huh, the more you know"

"You playing guitar I'm assuming?" Shane asked Aria

"Not exactly…" was all she said

"H-hey hold up a sec! you guys cuttin' into our action here!" Blake complained

"I gotta go practice! There's a jazz class at seven" Tori said before walking away

"Hey hold up can I get a lift!" Shane added following her

"Hey Kelly can I use the back room to practice my sax?" Dustin finished as he walked over to the red-head

Aria shook her head and laughed at her brothers' expressions "Told ya to keep it on the DL. I gotta go work on my audition, later bros!"

 **-City-**

After stopping by her room at Ops to print some flyers Aria went to the City and started posting them everywhere. She was looking for other people to join her on stage for her audition. She had guitar and vocals (duh) but she needed drums, bass, and keyboard, so she was holding her own auditions.

She didn't know how this would turn out but she hoped someone would notice them; Blue Bay is a small city so at least one person would have to see the posters.

She was humming the song she was planning on doing when someone tapped on her shoulder. She turned around someone and glared, it was the last person she expected to see.

"What are you doing here?" she practically growled

"Nice to see you too Ari" the stranger greeted with an arrogant smirk

"I'm gonna ask again, what are you doing here?"

"Oh you know, just walking around, and I see you need a drummer"

"Ha, you're more of an idiot than I remember. No thanks"

"Oh come on Ari, for old times' sake" he continued

"Old times' huh? Hmm, if I remember correctly you stabbed me in the back in those 'old times'"

"It's not my fault you're a freak monster" he sneered

Aria fought back tears "Is that all? That the best you got?"

"Far from it sweetheart" he smirked before walking away

Aria glared holes at the back of his head before putting the rest of her posters up.

 **-Later-**

Aria was lucky enough to have a couple of auditions signed up for her little band. Apparently this 'Totally Talented' try out was a bigger deal than she imagined. She scheduled an audition with those few people and began writing the song. It was nearly finished but she was still working on some lyrics.

When she had finally figured out the lyrics and melody her morpher beeped. It was Sensei saying to meet with her brothers in the woods to help the others. She ran to a hidden alley and streaked over to meet her brothers just outside the woods.

"THUNDERSTORM! RANGER FORM!"

"Power of Thunder!"

They ran deeper into the woods and found three wolf-like creatures surrounding their friends.

"Alright, I'm taking suggestions" Shane said as they backed up from the wolves

"Rolled up newspaper?" Dustin suggested

"How about one of those electric collars?" added Tori

'That's my cue' Aria thought to herself as she summoned her Black Daggers and fired a ball of lightning at them, "Down boy!"

"Bad dog" Blake added

"Ri!"

"Hunter!"

"Blake!"

Each of the Winds called, the wolves howled and then ran away right after.

"Maybe they're afraid of thunder!" Cam joked lightly

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Back at Ops Aria and Cam were trying to find out what those wolf things were as well as information about some Japanese looking freak Cam accidently released.

"Guys, take a look at this" Aria said

"I saw him, it, at the museum, but it was just a statue" Cam said pointing to the massive book laid out on the table

"So you is this dude anyway?" Dustin asked from beside Aria

"Shimazu" answered the youngest Thunder

"Correct Aria, an ancient warlord, the one you saw Cam was his spirit preserved for centuries in an ancient mask carved in his likeness"

"So, what does this guy have to do with those rabid rejects?" Blake asked

"Shimazu was known for terrorizing people of local villages with wolf lookin' things called Wolfblades" Aria informed

"So this guy and his wolves terrorizing Blue Bay Harbor now?" Hunter questioned

"Looks like it" Aria replied

"How is that possible?"

"I bet that whatever energy source was used to bring back Motodrone rubbed off on Shimazu" Cam thought aloud

"Great now we got a two-thousand year old Kabuki dude with an attitude, and his three pet wolves running around the city" Shane summarized

"Don't forget Lothor" Dustin added

"Trying to look on the bright side?" Tori asked sarcastically

"Hey, you know he brings up a good point. If this Shimazu dude was resurrected or whatever by Motodrone, there's a pretty good chance he's aligned himself with that masked freak" Aria brought up

"See! Not so dumb after all!" Dustin laughed

Aria laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck for a hug.

All the rangers soon crowded around the computer to try and locate Shimazu or the Wolfblades but instead found Motodrone.

"He's mine, you guys look for the three Wolfblades" Hunter said

"Alright, we'll take the city" Shane agreed

"And I'll track what's going on from the Samurai Star Chopper" Cam finished

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"SAMURAI STORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Power of Earth!"

"Air!"

"Water"

"Power of Thunder!"

"Green Samurai Power!"

 **-City-**

They split up as agreed, Hunter went after Motodrone, Cam was in his Samurai Star Chopper, Tori and Dustin went to the City Square, and the other three were on Tsunami Cycles patrolling downtown.

Soon Shane's morpher beeped and Cam told him, Blake, and Aria to head to City Square.

 **-City Square-**

They rode up to Tori and Dustin and found them slowly backing away from the three Wolfblades. One of them leapt up to attack but Aria was able to shoot him down with ease "Whaddup dawg!" she laughed

"Time for you to get housebroken!" Blake said as he launched off his bike, Thunder Staff in hand, and struck the Wolfblade in the chest. Shane followed his lead and slashed another one across its body, finally Aria copied the other two and used her Black Daggers to slash an 'x' on the last Wolfblade's stomach.

Blake fought the black Wolfblade, Shane dealt with the brown one, and Aria was in battle with the white one. Aria tried to use her speed to evade the Wolfblade's attacks but she was barely fast enough to dodge, let alone strike it. Blake and Shane weren't faring much better; Blake was pinned down and Shane was trapped in the Wolfblade's hold.

"Hey look!" Dustin called

The three Wolfblades released their holds on the ranger as Shimazu appeared lounging on a table

"Come, come Power Rangers, don't you know wolves can smell fear? You've obviously sent them into a feeding frenzy!"

Clenching his fist Dustin declared "The only one who should be afraid is you!"

"And whoever designed that ridiculous outfit!" Tori added

"Why would I be afraid of children?" Shimazu said standing up

"Oh I know he didn't call us children!" Aria yelled as she stood in line beside Blake

"Let's work this loser!" Her brother shouted before all five of them charged

Shane was split up from the others to fight Shimazu, leaving the remaining four to fight the Wolfblades

Aria saw Dustin pinned to the ground by one of the Wolfblades so she summoned a ball of lightning from her daggers and launched it at the overgrown dog. This in turn caused Dustin to see his best friend pinned down by Shimazu.

The other three saw as well and ran forward to help but instead were shot down.

"You have a lot to learn warrior!" Shimazu growled as he twisted Shane's arm "you can start by respecting your elders that goes for your little playmates too!"

The Wolfblades crowded their master, preventing the others from helping.

"Let him go!" Blake demanded

"As you wish!" the warlord said as he punched Shane in the stomach and threw him over to his teammates

"Shane!" Tori cried in concern

"You okay dude?" Aria asked

"Allow me to help!" Shimazu laughed as he blasted the five of them again. Thinking quickly, they disappeared from their ranger suits and reappeared under a stairwell a bit farther away from their original position.

Cam spoke through all of their morphers, "Shane, I've got Motodrone at the beach with the Wolfblades right around the corner from you"

"We'll take care of the fleabags" Aria reassured

"Okay, I'm on my way Cam"

After Shane took off, Aria and the others ran out from underneath the stairwell and came face to face with Wolfblades.

"Man don't these dogs ever lie down?" Blake grumbled

The three wolves sped by the four rangers at scratched each of them in the chest. They went after Dustin first one held him over the balcony of a parking garage and threw him down. Then all three circled around him and pinned him arms down. One of them was prepared to deliver a fatal blow when Aria ran up

"Oi! Back off bitch!" she yelled as she hurled a ball of lightning to the Wolfblades with her Black Daggers. Behind her visor her eyes were darkening at the thought of them killing him but they slowly faded back to grey-green when Dustin stood up again.

"You mutts need flea collars!" Tori yelled as the four regrouped

"And muzzles!" added Dustin

"Where's Animal Control when ya need 'em?" Blake wondered

"Right here!" Aria shouted as she sent multiple bolts of black lightning down on the wolves. It didn't cause much damage to them but they did stumble a bit

"You again!" they heard Shimazu sneer "I'd be impressed, if I weren't so annoyed!" he blew into a dog whistle, causing the Wolfblades to attack

Aria switched out her Daggers for her Thunder Staff and fought along-side her brother. Unfortunately, the Wolfblades decided to go after them first. They were over-whelmed within a few minutes and were tossed to Tori and Dustin.

"Ri! You ok?" Dustin asked in worry as he helped her up

"I'm good, just pissed at those fuckers"

In any other situation Dustin would've laughed at his girlfriend's attitude, but now really wasn't the time

"Okay guys we need a new plan" Blake said

"Yeah, the kujos not cooperating" Tori agreed

"Any ideas?" Aria asked

"Follow my lead!" Blake commanded before running away from the wolves "This way!"

Obviously the Wolfblades followed the four of them as they ran throughout the City Square.

"Split up!" he called before he ran left and the others kept going straight. The Wolfblades stuck with Blake and turned the corner to see him standing in the open with his hands on his hips, "Here doggy doggy!" he mocked. Aria and the others turned back around as Blake got pinned down by the wolves. "Go for it!"

Behind the wolves Aria already a ball of lightning formed from her Daggers and the Winds had their blasters ready to fire. They shot at the Wolfblades and caused them to fall to the ground. But now the Wolfblades had a new target, they leapt up and caught Tori by surprise just as she was about to run off with the other three.

"Let her go!" Blake yelled as they fired at the dogs again; Blake was using his Navy Antlers

Shimazu was watching from a distance away and was getting frustrated with this battle "Ah! This calls for some desperate measures!" he said to himself, blowing into the dog whistle once again.

This however did not have the same effect as last time because the Wolfblades started attacking each other, rather than the rangers. They saw this as an opportunity; they flipped into the air and gave the final blow on the wolves. The three exploded into bright glowing sparks and disappeared

"Let's bail this dog house!" Dustin exclaimed

"Amen dude" Aria agreed as they took off running.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

"You've all done well" Sensei commended "But I'm afraid Shimazu has proven himself a worthy opponent"

"No kiddin' those wolves were doggin' us big time" Dustin agreed

"Unfortunately they're not done" Cam said bringing up a video feed of the wolves returning as a single mutated, giant wolf

"No way!"

"You have got to be shitting me" Aria mumbled

To be Continued….

(A/N: So who's the guy Aria confronted in the city? What could he want with her? Will she find people to be in her band? Next chapter will be up on Saturday. REVIEW/FOLLOW! and please check the poll in my profile)


	25. Chapter 24

_(Disclaimer: PRNS not mine, all OCs are mine, song is Jessie J's)_

(A/N: Ok, so I know I said I'd update on Saturday but I really like this chapter and I ended up finishing it tonight so...ENJOY!)

 **Chapter 24: Shimazu Returns part II**

 **-Ninja Ops-**

The seven rangers stared at the video of the three headed dog in a mix of horror, disgust, and annoyance

"That's on ugly mutt" Tori commented

"That's an insult to dogs everywhere" Aria said in return. In the back of mind Aria couldn't help but worry over her Totally Talented act she only has a week left before the show airs and she still doesn't have anyone in her band. For a split second she even considered ringing… _him_ …up but decided she would rather jump off a cliff and into oblivion then play with… _him_

Cam's comment brought her back into reality "You guys better get out there before he decides to make the Federal Building a chew toy"

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Power of Water!"

"Air!"

"Earth!"

"Power of Thunder!"

 **-Downtown-**

The rangers formed their megazords and confronted the three faced dog.

"Let's pound this hound!" Shane shouted, prompting cheers of agreement from the others. They ran forward and were met with the giant Wolfblade striking at them. When he would attack one he would turn around to attack the other. The Storm Megazord grabbed the Wolfblade from behind but he easily broke out of their hold and scratched the megazord, causing it to spark.

The dog then spat out a blue blast that caused the two megazords to spark up immensely; the rangers inside were shaken up quite a bit as well. Shane and Hunter used the Minizord in hopes of gaining the upper hand. They used the Lion Laser of the Thunderstorm Megazord to attack which caused a massive explosion but the Wolfblade was still standing.

The giant dog leapt on top of the rangers and pinned them down, he began to strike and scratch the rangers' megazord. They were being shaken inside and they started to panic, next thing they know they're being transported out and ended up back in Ops.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

"Power Down!"

They were clearly drained from battle and were banged up pretty good, so after dressing their wounds Cam had an announcement to make.

"Okay listen up everybody! The zords should be brought back up by tomorrow the latest, but we're gonna need reinforcements."

"Well I'm open to any suggestions on how we deal with these freaks" Shane grumbled

"I may have one, dad? I think this is a pretty clear case of emergency"

"Say no more Cam, you have my permission"

The wall behind Cam suddenly opened to reveal the mysterious wooden crate

"We're finally gonna see what the big deal is!" Blake laughed

"Anyone wanna take any bets?" Hunter offered

Aria thought about it for a moment while she heard the others call out things like a sword of fighting staff "Scroll" she finally said

The other guys looked at her in disbelief and waited anxiously to find out what this mysterious artifact was

Cam brought out a sleek wooden box and placed it on the table. The other rangers gathered around it with anticipation.

When Cam opened the box Aria had a huge smirk on her face, "Pay up losers"

Cam took it out of the box and began reading it, the others just watched and waited for him to say something

"Hey, um, Cam I just wanted to ask-" Shane started

"Shh"

"O-okay well maybe we'll just leave you alone…"

"So….what do we do now?" Aria asked, after the failed megazord battle the Wolfblade left as well

"Be strong and stay alert" Sensei advised

"Ok sweet, cause I gotta go….later dudes!" she said before grabbing her songbook and guitar and walking out of Ops without another word.

 **-City-**

Aria practically streaked to city to meet up with the people auditioning for her band, when she finally got to the agreed meeting place she saw five girls waiting to audition. She wasn't originally planning on having a girl band but she didn't have the option of waiting.

First was a girl with bright red hair and blue eyes she walked over to the drum set and began playing. Aria couldn't help but smile and groove alongside the beat. Next was small Asian girl who seemed a year or two younger than Aria who went straight for keyboard. She was clearly nervous about auditioning but as soon as she played she instantly relaxed and played a rockin' tune in Aria's opinion. Then it was a girl with short wavy dirty blonde hair and piercing grey eyes that picked up her own bass and played an incredible melody. The two other acts didn't blow her away nearly as much as those three girls; she found her band

She congratulated the three girls; she felt something in those three that she didn't get from the others. After talking to them about practices and what not they had a mini jam session to see how well they play together. Lila the drummer, Nanami on keyboard, and Desi on bass with Aria on guitar and main vocals, they didn't have a name yet but that would come later. They managed to play Aria's song but due to impeccable timing she got a call from Cam to get to Ops

"Uh, so sorry guys but uh, I g-gotta go…now" Aria stuttered gathering her stuff

"Dude, we just started" Lila said

"Look I got something to take care of right now, keep practicing without me I'll be back as soon as I can" she promised before running out the door. Her band mates watched her leave in confusion.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Aria, surprisingly, was the last one to Ops, the six other rangers gathered around Cam who had his hand out and asked for their Power Disks

"Hold up….you want what now?" Aria asked

"Your power disks" Cam repeated plainly

Shane sucked his teeth as Dustin spoke up "I know I'm the slow one but doesn't that mean we'll have no powers?"

"Yes but only until I return"

Blake shook his head "I don't think that's such a good idea"

"Yeah, I kinda like knowing I can kick some ninja ass if I have to" Hunter agreed

The other rangers nodded their heads in agreement with the Crimson Ranger.

"I understand your hesitation rangers," Sensei said "but it is the only way"

Shane finally spoke up "How does giving up our power disks help us defeat Shimazu?'

"To defeat his Wolfblades we must open a portal to an ancient world, your seven power disks are the only entity powerful enough to do that"

Cyber Cam then strutted in with a smug look on his face, "If anything happens, Cyber Cam can activate the zords. You can still operate them, you'll just be in civilian form" Cam reassured

After sharing uneasy looks with one another Aria stepped forward and sighed "If anything happens to this…I will hunt you down" she said half-jokingly, she kissed her black and gold disk and handed it to Cam. The others soon followed her lead.

"Thanks…wish me luck" he said before turning around to morph

"SAMURAI STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Green Samurai Power!"

After he left the others watched on the computer while receiving updates from their friend, everything seemed fine until the giant Wolfblade appeared out of nowhere, knocking Cam from the sky. They gasped at the sight of the fallen Star Chopper and the three face dog

"We have to help him!" Tori cried while the others stared at the screen in horror

"Uh hello," C.C began "Anyone notice the three headed giant dog on the loose?"

Already annoyed by his attitude Aria pinched his ear hard and yanked him closer to her, "Just get the zords" she growled before releasing him.

They headed towards the door when Blake looked back at the virtual replica rubbing his ear, "Ya know, you seriously need an attitude adjustment"

Cyber Cam, for once, remained silent and called on the zords.

 **-Forest-**

The rangers rolled up to the coordinates Cam left and waited in their individual zords. Shane, Tori, and Aria were hovering in the air while the others were on the ground. They were all a bit nervous for this battle; they knew it wasn't going to be easy but the added pressure of being in civilian form didn't help either.

"Alright guys without our powers," Shane reminded" We can't take any direct hits"

"Is that supposed to cheer us up?" Tori asked

"'Cause it ain't working" Aria finished, her hands were gripping on the controls so hard that her knuckles started to turn white.

"Just be careful" Shane said calmly

"How 'bout we just blow this guy away and go home?" Dustin suggested

He was the first to step forward, using his Lion Tornado Blast to distract it. Tori went up next and rammed the nose of her Dolphin Zord into its side. Blake and Hunter rolled up afterwards while Aria hovered above the two.

"Yo whaddup dogs? Meet the beetles!" he laughed

Hunter and Aria laughed lightly as well and pulled their scopes out in front of them (A/N: Are they scopes or visors?). All three zords fired at the dog simultaneously.

Shane flew overhead and fired at the Wolfblade as well before circling back around.

Next thing they knew the three faced freak was now blasting at them. Blake's Beetlezord rolled over multiple times, Hunter's Insectizord had explosions surrounding it, and Aria's Scarabzord was sparking up a storm, she ended up having to land it and only do ground assaults.

Then, the Wolfblade punched Dustin's Lionzord and batted Shane's Hawkzord away.

"Cyber Cam, any word from your twin bro yet?" Hunter asked

"Yeah, cause we're getting hammered out here!" Blake added

"Nothing yet!" he answered "Just hold those mutts off as long as you can"

"Easier said than done" Aria exclaimed as she watched Tori get tossed aside like a ragdoll.

They regrouped and prayed Cam would get there soon.

"Guys check it out!" they heard him say; they looked down and saw their favorite green ranger with a guitar looking item. Aria's eyes widened at the sight and grew wider when she heard Cam's riff.

"Who knew? You should totally try out for Totally Talented!" she heard Dustin say

"So not the time dude"

"I'm calling it the Lightning Riff Blaster!" Cam continued

From his zord Blake laughed, "You couldn't come with a better name?"

"Actions speak louder than words Blake, check it out! I can use it to summon the mighty Mammothzord!" with another riff multiple building disappeared to reveal this legendary zord

"Well why didn't ya say so?" Hunter laughed

The Mammothzord sped forward and the rangers' ooh-ed and ahh-ed

"I'm sending you back your power disks!" He declared, sure enough seconds later all power disks were returned to their rightful owner

"Alright, it's time to put this puppy down once and for all! Loading power disks" Shane announced

Each of the rangers placed their power disk in their proper place on their morphers and morphed

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Ninja Ranger Power!"

With their power disks in their possession the six rangers combine their zords into their respective megazords and then combined into the Thunderstorm Megazord.

"Check it out!" Cam shouted from the rooftop "You're going to the pound wolf-man! Power Spheres release!"

The six rangers watched in awe as three power spheres were shot out from the newest zord and appeared in front of them

"Serpent Sword! Ram Hammer! Turtle Mace!"

With the Serpent Sword in one hand and the combined Ram Hammer and Turtle Mace in the other (A/N: A.K.A giant kendama) they faced off the Wolfblade. He ran forward to attack and leapt up but was met with a slash across his stomach. It was now their turn to rush forward, they slashed the beast again and again causing it to fall to the ground.

"Combine with the Mammothzord!" Cam advised "The power should be enough to defeat the Wolfblades"

"Got it, initiating sequence" Shane confirmed

The Thunderstorm Megazord flew up in the air and landed on the massive zord's back.

"Mammothzord engage weapons!" Shane commanded "Sphere Attack!"

The front of the zord opened and several power spheres rolled out and overwhelmed the Wolfblade.

"NINJA RANGER POWER!" all the rangers yelled as they delivered the final blow. The combine power of the Lion Blaster and the Mammothzord was too much for oversized flea bag and it was finally defeated.

 **-Next Week: Totally Talented-**

After defeating the Wolfblades for good Aria and her band was finally able to practice without interruption. They spent the next week perfecting the song and their harmonies and they felt really good about it. They agreed to sit in different parts of the auditorium to surprise everyone with their new band 'Black Magic'.

Aria walked in to meet her friends and they stared at her costume.

Half of her wild, curly hair was pinned to side, dark eyeliner surrounding her grey-green eyes, a cropped purple tank top, a black fishnet top over it, a cropped leather jacket, tight black jeans, a pair of heeled black boots, and a yellow bandana hanging from her back pocket. She was carrying a black and purple electric guitar.

"What?" she asked innocently as she stood next to Dustin and wrapped her free arm around his waist.

Cam was next to walk in, he was wearing a black cowboy hat that covered a part of his face, and his typical green get-up "Hey you made it!" Tori said enthusiastically

"You sure it's not Cyber Cam?" Blake wondered

"It's the real me" he confirmed with a small smirk

"Ugh that thing's not gonna summon any ancient mammoth robots right?" Hunter asked jokingly while motioning to his own electric guitar

"It might, I've been known to rock a few worlds"

"Big words little man, we'll see who's the real rock star in the group" Aria challenged lightly

Cam returned the smile before joining his friends in the audience; the show was about to begin. Aria quickly glanced around the auditorium and found her band mates and new friends; they all agreed with purple and black to go with their name.

"Time for Totally Talented!" the host announced "Today one talented act will win a chance of a lifetime so who's it gonna be?"

First of the group was Tori who did an upbeat dance routine, Aria couldn't help but notice how Blake was staring at Tori with his mouth slightly open. She suppressed a laugh and reminded herself to tell Tori later.

Next was Shane who sang a song she never heard of, followed by Dustin who played his sax flawlessly. Aria was greatly impressed by her boyfriend's hidden talent.

Then it was Cam who surprisingly played his own guitar like a pro, however Aria was still confident her act would top it.

Then it was the act Aria was dreading; Hunter started rapping while Blake was behind a mini DJ booth. She put her head in her hands and prayed for the embarrassment to be over. It was finally her turn so when Blake and Hunter returned to the audience Aria gave her excuse.

"Uh, I gotta go tune my guitar, wanna make sure it's perfect ya know?" she lied before she took off

"Wait but the-" Blake began but gave up seeing she was too far away

Stu came back on stage and announced the next act, "And now, please give a welcoming hand to Black Magic!"

The stage lights cut out for a minute so the group could get ready and when they came back on all members were prepped and ready. Aria's friends' eyes went wide when they saw their youngest member up on the stage. They didn't know how she was able to form a band in a week but they excited to hear them. Aria started the beat with her guitar and began to sing (A/N: This song belongs to Jessie J, to hear how the band played it just look up 'Domino'. **_Backup,_** _Aria_ )

 _I'm feeling sexy and free  
Like glitter's raining on me  
You're like a shot of pure gold  
I think I'm 'bout to explode_

I can taste the tension like a cloud of smoke in the air  
Now I'm breathing like I'm running cause you're taking me there  
Don't you know? You spin me out of control

 _ **Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh**_ _  
We can do this all night  
Damn this love is skin tight  
Baby, come on  
_ _ **Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh**_ _  
Boom me like a bass drum  
Sparkin' up a rhythm  
Baby, come on!  
_ _ **Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh  
**_ _  
Rock my world until the sunlight  
Make this dream the best I've ever known  
We'll be dancing in the moonlight  
Take me down like I'm a domino_

Every second is a highlight  
When we touch don't ever let me go  
We'll be dancing in the moonlight  
Take me down like I'm a domino

You got me losing my mind  
My heart beats out of time  
I'm seeing Hollywood stars  
You strum me like a guitar

I can taste the tension like a cloud of smoke in the air  
Now I'm breathing like I'm running cause you're taking me there  
Don't you know? You spin me out of control

 _ **Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh**_ _  
We can do this all night  
Damn this love is skin tight  
Baby, come on  
_ _ **Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh**_ _  
Boom me like a bass drum  
Sparkin' up a rhythm  
Baby, come on!  
_ _ **Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh**_

Rock my world until the sunlight  
Make this dream the best I've ever known  
We'll be dancing in the moonlight  
Take me down like I'm a domino

Every second is a highlight  
When we touch don't ever let me go  
We'll be dancing in the moonlight  
Take me down like I'm a domino

The applause was deafening and Aria beamed at her band mates and then at Dustin who was staring at her like how Blake was staring at Tori. The exited the stage and agreed to meet up again soon, when Aria sat back down next to Dustin the other six rangers began swarming her with congratulations and who her band mates were.

It was now the final act as Stu came back on stage to announce them, "Now for our final act from, well all it says is far far away, S.N.A, Space Ninjas with Attitude!"

The seven rangers watched in shock as Marah and Kapri appeared on stage. Tori seemed to have the same idea because they actually sounded…good, clearly something was wrong. Aria looked all over the stage to try and find something when she found the jackpot. She nudged Tori in the arm and pointed to a hideous pink stereo. She and Tori stood up in the middle of the song and walked backstage. With a smirk Aria charged her hand with a bit of lightning and touched it. The music started to skip as well as the auto-tuned vocals and the girls on stage were panicking; they had been exposed.

"You wanna try that again?" Aria asked as she and Tori walked to the edge of the stage

"Without the CD player?" Tori finished

Stu threw his arms in the air while Marah and Kapri tried to explain themselves. "W-w-wait those are our real voices!" Kapri shrieked

"Yeah…with a little enhancement" Marah added

"Ya know what? If we can't win no one can!" Kapri yelled, blasting Stu in the process and storming off stage.

Stu got fed up and walked away going off about having done Shakespeare or whatever.

Aria and Tori walked back to their group when Aria asked "So…who won?"

"Oh I dunno Ri, I think we're all winners" Cam said cheesily, causing laughter to erupt from the others.

The rest of Black Magic came by to say introduce themselves, "Oh uh Lila, Nanami, and Desi meet Hunter, Blake, Cam, Shane, Dustin, and Tori"

They exchanged handshakes and greetings. Aria did notice however how Lila and Hunter, as well as Nanami and Cam seemed to be plain out staring at each other.

'Well isn't this interesting…" Aria thought to herself

(A/N: Ooooo two other pairings _VERY minor. Hope you enjoyed 3. Please check out the polls in my profile and REVIEW/FOLLOW!)_


	26. Chapter 25

_(Disclaimer: we all know what goes here)_

 **Chapter 25: Wild Wipeout**

 **-Beach-**

Aria was standing on the beach waiting for Tori to come out the water; she was heading into to town to have a little jam session with her band and was wondering if Tori wanted to join.

"Hey T!" she greeted when the blonde ran over "I'm heading out with the band, you wanna come?"

Tori didn't answer right away due to two muscle heads talking about her

"Not bad…for a chick" one guy laughed

Aria and Tori's faces grew dark expressions and glared at the two. They shared a quick glance and smiled

"Got get it T we'll be downtown when you're done" she said before watching her friend shove past the arrogant pricks and run back to the ocean. She glared at the two guys again and headed up the beach.

Tori on the other hand swam out into the ocean, just when she was about to stand up on her board Tori noticed a shimmering gold aura surrounding it; seeing a giant wav coming her way she ignored it and stood up; riding the wave perfectly, well almost perfectly.

The wave crashed down on her causing to wipe out.

 **-Parallel Universe: Ninja Ops-**

"Ugh this is so boring" Aria complained, twirling a small knife in her hand "Can't we like, go do something?" she flicked her wrist and the knife shot out at Blake who easily dodged it

"Hey watch it!" he complained "…bitch…"

Hearing this, Aria faced her lousy excuse of a brother and summoned her powers. "What did you call me?" she never gave him a chance to answer as she hurled a ball of energy to him. He tucked and rolled out of the way and muttered a forced apology.

Aria tossed her to the side and came up behind Dustin who was seated in front of the computer as usual, wrapping her arms around him.

He completely ignored her and continued his work.

"Ya know, Aria's got a point, why don't we have go out" Hunter offered with a grin

"Let's do it" Shane agreed darkly, within seconds all six rangers, minus Tori who had gone missing, morphed and walked out of Ops.

 **-City-**

The six strutted out in the city as a pack, blasting anything in their sights. They laughed at the screams of terror and relished in the destruction of Blue Bay Harbor. Dustin now lazily had his arm wrapped around Aria while she clung onto him as if her life depended on it.

"Time for the big finish" Shane said as he turned to the Black Ranger

Aria de-morphed and launched into the air, her eyes were pitch black and she had a sick grin on her face; she laughed evilly before blasting at the innocent aliens and people of Blue Bay. Destroying most of them in the process

 **-Parallel Universe: Storm Chargers-**

Tori watched the small T.V as they showed the power rangers tear up the city. She was close to tears when she witnessed Aria willingly using her powers. She decided to head to Ops and figure out what was going on.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Cam and Aria had called in the other rangers to tell them what had happened with Tori.

"She's off the grid" Aria said in worry

"Off the grid?" Dustin repeated, not really understanding what was going on

"We can't locate her anywhere, it's like she dropped off the face of the Earth" Cam tried to explain

"Do you know what happened?" Blake asked

Aria tried to fight back tears, "She was surfing at the beach; that was the last time I saw her. And that was early this morning"

The guys were all taken aback, it was already 3:30, sure Tori loved to surf, but she wouldn't spend seven hours straight out in the water.

The computer beeped and showed a gold butterfly, Lothor's newest alien.

 **-Parallel Universe: Ninja Ops-**

After wreaking havoc on the city the six returned to Ops. Hunter and Shane were sparring, Cam and Blake were sparring, and Aria sat across Dustin's lap while he worked on the computer.

"You guys listen the whole city's freaking out!" Tori said as she ran into Ops

"Hey Tori, there you are" Shane replied in his usual stoic self "'Sup?"

"You missed out!" Hunter grinned excitedly "We were on fire, outa control!"

"Didn't you guys hear me? I saw on the news that the Power Rangers were out there trashing everything" she continued

"Like we said, outa control" Shane smirked

The guys laughed in agreement as Tori looked on in disbelief, "What? That was you guys?"

"Shh, don't tell anyone we wouldn't want to get into trouble" Hunter snickered. His 'smiley' personality was starting to freak Tori out a little "What's up with you anyway, you've been acting weird?"

"I'm acting weird?"

"Yeah," Blake spoke up "What's with the whole goody-goody routine?"

Tori looked down; hurt by the tone of her crush's voice

"Oh, hey, I'm sorry my bad" he started before laughing "Hey what are ya gonna do cry?"

The others laughed with him as Dustin turned around with Aria still on his lap and his hand high up on her thigh. "Ha! I'm almost done with a new weapon that's really gonna rock this town!" he cheered

"My evil mastermind" Aria purred before pulling him into a deep kiss. Tori was shocked to see the usually innocent and private couple pull something like that, especially in front of her older brothers.

When they broke apart Cam spoke up, unfazed by the mini make-out session that just took place, "That's why you're the mechanical master Dude D-Man!"

"Cyber Cam, can you tell me what's going on?" Tori begged

"Whoa T, I am so not Cyber Cam"

"Oh he was cute…" Aria said aloud causing Dustin to slightly glare at her

Turning towards Sensei on the rail Tori asked "Sensei please, tell me what's happening" she didn't notice the other six stalk up behind her, Aria taking the lead with her black eyes and glowing hands. "What's happened to everyone?"

"What are you looking at me for?" Sensei snapped "If you don't want to be a ranger anymore you know where the waterfall is. Don't let it splash you on the way out."

The six were now right behind her and in her now distorted voice Aria said "Or maybe you need a little help, finding the way"

"So what's it gonna be Tori? You with us? Or not?" Blake asked

"If you're talking about trashing the city, then not!" Tori huffed

"Fine, have it you're way" Dustin said

Tori slowly made her way to the entrance as the others followed and went into their fighting stances.

One by one, starting with Shane, the six attacked the Water Ninja. They didn't hold anything back, she was their target now. Cam ran up next followed by Blake and Dustin. Hunter stepped in before Aria stood face to face with Tori. "Never did like you anyway" Aria smirked before blasting Tori. She dodged the Black Energy by millimeters; she regained her balance and faced her friends, "Can this day get any weirder?" Tori ran out the door while the others laughed.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Aria and Dustin walked into Storm Chargers in hopes of getting some clue as to where Tori disappeared to. Their battle with the giant butterfly, Goldwinger, ended rather quickly, seeing as he took off running a few minutes after they showed up.

"Kels, have you seen Tori?" Aria asked, all day she had been clutching onto her necklace in anxiety and hasn't let go. Tori's disappearance was really starting to get to her.

"No, I'm sorry Ri, maybe you should check the beach?" the red head suggested.

"Blake and Hunter are already there" Dustin spoke up, rubbing his girlfriend's back gently.

"Well, has she spoken to anyone before she went missing?" Kelly asked

Aria's eyes widened before storming out the store, eyes darkening as she stomped down to the beach.

"Ri! Hey wait!" Dustin called as he raced after the furious girl "What's up?"

"Those two mother fuckers who were talking shit about Tori!" she yelled as her voice started to distort itself and her hands started to glow

"Hey, hey, hey, we don't know if they did anything yet." Dustin reasoned "Look I know you're worried but take a deep breath and look at me"

Aria looked into his light brown eyes and slowly calmed down. "R-right sorry…" she muttered "Thank you"

She planted a chaste kiss on Dustin's lips before taking his hand and walking down to the beach.

 **-Parallel Dimension: City-**

After chasing Tori out of Ops the seven rangers went out started trashing with city again, laughing along as they did.

They all blasted an abandoned car causing a huge explosion to erupt. They all cheered at the sight of the people scrambling out of their way.

They strutted down the alley with Shane in the lead. Shane and Hunter were blasting random pieces of debris out of their path

"Nothing like the smell of burning steel!" Dustin cheered

"Let's burn this city to the ground!" Aria laughed manically

They turned a corner and now all six were slashing and/or blasting anything in their sights.

"Hey!" they heard Tori yell "I told you, you're not gonna destroy Blue Bay Harbor!"

"Back off Tori, we don't wanna hurt you" Blake said casually, resting his elbow on Shane's shoulder

"I wouldn't worry about that, I'm not exactly defenseless"

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

Aria and the others burst out laughing, what did she think she was doing?

"OMG what was that?" Aria cackled

"Ha are we supposed to say that?" Shane asked sarcastically

"This is bull shit!" Dustin yelled "Go for it babe"

If Tori wasn't sure she was in a parallel dimension before, she sure knew now. Nobody calls Ri 'babe' without losing a limb, no matter who it was

Aria stepped forward, in front of the others, and de-morphed. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and when they opened they were pitch black again. She flew up in the air and stared Tori down. She summoned a ball of energy and threw down at the blonde. The balls of energy turned into a whip and she lashed down at the Water Ninja.

The others followed soon after and charged with their weapons drawn. Tori blocked their attacks but she still wasn't strong enough. Blake threw her down and the five guys surrounded her. Tori looked in the air and saw a menacing Aria ready to kill. A ball of energy appeared in her hand and she prepared to launch it. She winded her arm back but was suddenly blown away at the last minute. Aria landed in a heap on the ground unconscious. Not even bothering to help their fallen comrade up the boys turned around and saw the mayor of Blue Bay, Lothor.

 **-Beach-**

Aria called her teammates and told them how she believed something may have happened to Tori while she was surfing. They asked the lifeguards on duty but they all said that didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Aria knew her friend could take care of herself but she was getting more and more worried. They were all walking down the beach when they ran into someone unexpectedly.

"Um you guys go down a bit farther, I need to double check something" Aria said

Her brothers noticed her staring at someone down the beach and understood completely, they helped their sister out and herded the other three guys away.

She walked up to the auburn haired girl and smiled "Long time, no see Leanne"

 **-Parallel Dimension: City-**

Aria woke up to the sight of her team getting handled by Lothor and his aliens. Shakily she stood up and found Tori sitting in the middle of it all with a smile on her face. She looked around furiously and the wind started to pick up around her, a black aura surrounded the small teen and black lightning struck the ground behind her, giving her a deadly appearance.

"No I'm mad" she growled before attacking

Tori watched in horror as black demon-like wings erupted from her back and sped towards her, yelling as she flew at her. Her nails turned into talons and her black eyes turned a bright glowing red.

Tori shielded her face and prepared for the worst but was shocked to find Lothor blasting her from the sky again. Aria skidded to the ground but bounced back up and flew towards the masked mayor.

Marah and Kapri backed the Mayor up and fired at the flying teen. One of their blasts hit Aria in her wing and she went crumbling down, now unconscious again the Space Ninjas lined up.

The other rangers stood in a line before Lothor and his group of aliens and received a blast from their combined weapons, the Space Ninja Striker.

A group of Kelzaks held the rangers back and they de-morphed. Hunter, Blake, and Dustin saw Aria's crumpled body on the ground and tried reaching her.

Another Kelzak went and picked her up from the ground and held her alongside the others.

"I hope you boys have learned your lesson" Lothor scolded

"What if we trash anymore stuff we'll get our butts kicked?" Dustin said, occasionally glancing at Aria

"Exactly, no wonder you're the smart one. Take them away!"

"Um," Cam started "A-are we in trouble or something?'

"You ruined everything! And look at what you did to my sister!" Blake yelled coldly

"Ah, I was over this bad ranger deal anyway, I'm of taking up skate boarding" Hunter spoke up

Shane challenged him, "Skateboarding? No way man that's lame, now motocross, I could get into that"

They were taken away and Tori looked for how to get back home.

 **-Parallel Dimension: Beach-**

With Marah's surprisingly good idea, she swam out to the middle of the ocean and prepared to ride the oncoming wave. However the screams of people caught her attention. It was Aria, her wings had been retracted so she wasn't as fast but she was still coming for the blonde surfer. Her talons were out in front of her as she dove for Tori but missed as Tori paddled faster and faster into the water. She saw a wave and prepared to stand. Aria was still coming for her so she only had one chance to do this. She stood on her board for a few seconds before wiping out, just seconds before Aria lunged for her.

 **-Beach-**

Aria left Leanne and met up with the others, from the corner of her eye she found the two guys who were talking about Tori. She stomped up to them and stared them down

"Babe alert!" one called out

This only infuriated Aria more. She poked one of them hard in the chest "Say that again and you'll regret it, now, where is my friend?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" the other demanded

"Oh you know who I'm talking about! That one who 'had sick moves for a chick'? That ring any bells?" she quoted

"Oh that one, she was hot, she wiped out earlier. Told her she should leave the big waves to us"

Blake stepped in, if looks could kill, these two would already be six feet under.

"We are gonna ask you again, what happened to our friend" he said coldly

"A-all right ease up dude, i-is that her?"

The six looked over and found their surfer friend washed up on the shore. They ran up to her without another glance at Dumb and Dumber.

"Tori!" Aria called "Hey T!"

Slowly her eyes opened and she stood up in a panic, "Stay away! Stay back!"

"What?" Dustin asked "I showered and everything!"

"Dustin? Is that really you?"

"Yeah I'm pretty sure it is" he laughed after sniffing his armpit

Tori stood up and smiled "Oh guys it's so good to see you!"

"Hey T you ok?" Aria asked she went to hug her friend up, however, Tori flinched away from Aria's open hand.

"Uh, hey where were you? Ri was freaking out like crazy" Blake asked, Tori just turned away to avoid Aria's grey-green gaze

"Yeah what happened?" added Hunter

"I'll tell you about it later" she noticed the screaming people in the background "What's going on here?"

"Giant butterfly attacking the city" Aria spoke up softly, she was slightly offended her best friend wouldn't even look at her.

"It's good to be back" Tori said to herself "Shall we?"

Knowing what she was referring to Aria spoke up again, "People"

After acknowledges of understanding and a little bit of questioning where to morph, they found a quiet and private spot on the beach.

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Ninja Ranger Power"

 **-City-**

They chased the gold butterfly into the city and stood before it, "How did you escape my Gold Dust Dimension?" he demanded

"Sorry to disappoint you, but it takes a little more than just a wipe out to keep me down!" Tori countered

They leapt into battle a tried as they might, this butterfly would not go down. The Thunders managed to cut a bit of his giant wings off but they grew back in seconds. Cam came by and helped them out, slashing at a small orange button at the base of his two wings, preventing him from re-generating, and finally Shane used his Battlizer to take out the over grown bug.

Much to their surprise, he didn't grow thirty feet tall, prompting Aria to holler out in joy.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Tori still wouldn't look at Aria and it was really start to worry her, so she decided to ask Blake for a favor

"Who want me to what?"

"Ask her out, tell her to talk to you about what happened to her in the other dimension" Aria repeated as though she were talking to fifth grader.

"She's not gonna go for it" Blake tried to argue

Aria rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"You're fucking blind dude. From the minute we met her you both have been crushing on each other, it's starting to get pretty sad to watch now"

"Wait really?" Blake said in disbelief

"You are unbelievable, go ask her already!"

Finally Blake left Ops to go ask Tori out when Hunter came by

"You playin' matchmaker now?" he laughed

"Haha very funny"

"Hey I'm teasing. You know I love ya"

Aria knew something was up, Hunter never said that unless he wanted something

"What do you want?" she asked in a bored voice

"Lila's number?"

"Uh no, I'm not hooking you up with Lila okay that's just wrong"

"But-" Hunter began to argue but Aria covered his mouth

"Ah no buts!"

He stalked out of Ops and Cam walked towards the raven haired teen, "So, does this mean I can't link up with Nanami?"

Aria thre her arms in the air and shook her head "Unbelieveable!"

(A/N: So that's that, please Review and Follow. Also, I may not update constantly as i am heading back to school tomorrow. I will try to update as soon as possible though xx)


	27. Chapter 26

_(Disclaimer: PRNS isn't mine, Aria and all OCs are)_

 _(A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner...school's been a pain...)_

 **Chapter 26: Double-Edged Blake and Single Strike Aria**

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Aria was hanging with Dustin at Storm Chargers when she noticed the time, "Oh crap, uh Dustin I gotta head out. I'll see you later!" she said as she gave him a peck on the cheek and raced for the door

"Um, ok…" he said as he watched her leave.

Outside the shop she found a sleek black convertible with her auburn haired friend in the driver's seat. Smiling she leapt over the car door and slid into the passenger seat.

"You know there's a door right?" Leanne laughed

"You know I don't care right?" Aria remarked with a laugh as well

"Some things never change"

They drove off and headed to their old stomping grounds…the Thunder Academy.

 **-Thunder Academy-**

Aria and Leanne stood at the entrance and Aria looked to her friend, "Lee, the Academy isn't the same ok, yeah I know you know Lothor attacked but I just wanna make sure you'll be okay"

Leanne had a small smile creep onto her face "Thanks Ri I'll be fine, let's head in"

They entered their destroyed Academy and held back the tears. This was home for both of them and seeing their Academy burnt to the ground triggered something in them.

Behind them they heard leaves rustle and the sound of footsteps the two girls fell into their fighting stances and got ready to fight.

Two guys leapt up and landed in front of them, "Are you kidding me?!" Aria demanded furiously, she now figured out why _he_ showed up out of nowhere

"Ri? What are you doing here?" Blake asked in genuine shock

Aria pulled out a long black whip with a red and black handle, much like her Thunder Staff "Sensei Omino left me the Thunder Whip." She explained "Don't tell me…" she cringed

"Thunder Blade" Blake confirmed pulling his own weapon out

The second guy spoke up with a smirk, "This is what I'm doing here Ari"

Aria glared holes into his skull and Leanne scolded the boy while placing a comforting hand on Aria's shoulder, "Drop it Liam, we agreed that you leave Ari alone so you can help Blake"

Liam rolled his eyes and pulled out his own Thunder Blade.

After Aria and Blake shared their stories of receiving these weapons they realized that Sensei Omino had said the exact same thing to them about using them when they were ready

For the next hour or two the Ominos helped the Bradleys practice with their respective weapons.

Afterwards Leanne offered Blake and Aria a ride back to the shop. Leanne and Liam rode up front while Blake and Aria sat in the back.

The latter of the four was beyond annoyed that her brother didn't tell her that Liam of all people would be helping him practice the same Leanne would helping her. She watched the city streak by and thought back to two years ago when she met the fucker sitting in front of her

 _-Flashback-_

 _A fifteen year old Aria was practicing her Thunder Staff when she sensed a new presence in the small grassy field. She quickly turned and pointed her Staff at the newcomer. To her surprise it was Liam Omino, a.k.a every girl's crush here at the Thunder Academy, with his hazel eyes, dark brown hair and incredible physique, the seventeen year old was definitely an eye catcher. She lowered her arm and a faint blush spread across her face "Oh, uh sorry Liam…"_

 _"_ _You're Aria right?"_

 _"_ _How'd you know that?" she asked stupidly, she mentally smacked herself up the head at her reply_

 _Liam chuckled "Uh, my sister Leanne is friends with your brothers"_

 _"_ _Oh right…"_

 _There was a heavy pause before Liam spoke again "You wanna spar?" he proposed with a smirk as he picked up a spare Thunder Staff._

 _Being one to never back down from a challenge Aria smirked "Bring it"_

 _They circled around each other before Liam charged forwards. Aria ducked and rolled out of the way. She then moved forwards to slash the older ninja who expertly blocked it. This match continued before Aria managed to get Liam on his back as she kneeled over him with her Staff inches from his face._

 _They stayed like that for a couple of minutes catching their breath before Aria noticed their position. She hastily stood up with a flush of embarrassment coming across her face and helped Liam off the ground._

 _"_ _Not bad…" he breathed_

 **-Storm Chargers-**

"Hey Ri" Blake called, pulling her out of her flashback "We're back"

Aria blinked a couple times and saw that they were in front of Storm Chargers. "Oh um, thanks for the ride Lee"

They got out the car and said their good byes, Aria purposefully ignoring Liam, and walked with Blake to the shop. Aria glanced over her shoulder and didn't really like the way Liam was staring at her. As they walked to the small store they saw Tori walking towards them.

Tori was slowly getting over the whole 'evil Aria' deal from last week, but it was clear she was still shaken up. After telling Blake what happened to her Blake then repeated the insane story to Aria who understood her friend's hesitation. Aria had been giving Tori a bit of space and they were slowly getting back to their old friendship.

Things between the blues improved as well, they weren't official yet but they had been going out a lot more.

Tori immediately started talking to Blake, asking about what he was doing and Aria took this as her cue to leave.

Entering the store she ran into Dustin, all her thoughts of Liam were pushed aside as she looked up to the one who always made her feel like everything was okay, that nothing could ever go wrong.

Unfortunately he had happened to look out the window to see Aria get out a car with another guy. He wasn't the usually jealous type, but he just couldn't shake off a feeling that Aria was hiding something.

"Hey you okay?" Aria asked when she noticed the far off look in his eyes

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine" he reassured with a smile

 **-Days Later-**

Aria and Blake snuck back out to the Thunder Academy to continue their training. This has been going on for days and they were both improving greatly. Blake was a natural with the Thunder Blade and Aria was able to charge her Thunder Whip with Black Lightning to add more power in her strikes. However, these long days with Liam nearby has been bringing back painful memories for the young ranger.

 _-Flashback-_

 _Liam and Aria had been together for about five months now and she never felt closer to anyone before, well except her brothers. She's also never felt happier, her parents' deaths took a toll on three siblings but Liam distracted her from the grief._

 _However, she felt a little guilty hiding her powers from him. She had been debating this for weeks now but she felt like if she didn't tell someone, she'd implode. It's been about four years since her parents died and she's been finding it harder and harder to keep these powers a secret. She was meeting him where they had their first sparring match and prepped herself to finally come clean._

 _She saw his figure walk up the field and met him in the middle. She gave him a hug and he picked her up and spun her around; after a few minutes of stalling Aria finally admitted her secret._

 _"_ _Hey Liam, I need to tell you something" she said nervously_

 _"_ _Ari what is it? You okay?"_

 _"_ _Oh yeah I'm fine, I just need to get something off my chest"_

 _Liam put a hand on her back "What is it?"_

 _Aria took a deep breath and started spewing out everything related to her powers, how she attacked Hunter when she was a child, how her eyes turn black, how she can summon balls of energy and burns and scorches anything it hits, how she's been locking her emotions away for ten years to keep them at bay. She even admitted how close she has been to losing control of her powers again._

 _By the time she was done Aria had tears coming down her face, she was ashamed of those powers and ashamed that she's not strong enough to control it._

 _Liam lifted her face towards his "Don't worry" he said gently_

 _-Next Day-_

 _Aria and her brothers were training in the afternoon when Sensei Omino and the Academy Guard rushed to Aria and pinned her down with her hands behind her back. Her brothers tried to help her but they were held back from doing so._

 _"_ _Aria Bradley, you are under arrest under the suspicion of using Dark Ninja Powers" Sensei Omino stated in a harsh voice._

 _The poor girl's eyes widened in fear, and then narrowed in betrayal when she saw Liam standing behind his father with his arms crossed against his chest._

 _-End Flashback-_

Using this frustration to power her last attack she lashed her whip down at the target and it split in half, straight down the middle.

Leanne smiled at her friend turned student and praised "Nice job Ari, you're a natural"

Aria smiled at the sight of the ruined target and Liam kept sneaking glances at the seventeen year old ninja. Blake smiled smugly from his side of the training area at the sight, 'Show 'em Ri' he thought to himself

 **-Ninja Ops-**

The other rangers were in Ops sparring when the computer went off, showing a balloon monster type thing…. (A/N: I mean seriously….wtf were they thinking?)

"Those are some nasty hiccups" Tori commented, still pinning Dustin's arm behind his back

"We should get over there" Shane began before realizing two members of the team were missing "Wait, what about Ri and Blake?"

"I don't know where they are, Tori?" Hunter admitted

"Don't look at me; I can barely get a hello outa him, Dustin?"

"Ri bailed on me again today" he sighed, he was getting more and more concerned about his girlfriend's whereabouts. He was still a bit tweaked seeing her with another guy and couldn't help but get a bad vibe from him.

"Cam try to get a hold of them, we'll head this guy off" Shane said before he and the others morphed and headed off to battle.

"Where are you guys?" the tech asked himself

 **-Thunder Academy-**

The training moved to sparring, Aria versus Leanne and Blake against Liam. They soon switched partners so it was siblings against siblings. However, something wasn't sitting right with them; Blake and Aria both had a feeling that they were needed. So with a quick explanation they morphed and carried their new weapons into battle.

 **-City-**

Aria and Blake streaked to the city and found the latest alien, Inflatron, Shimazu, and their friends facing off. The other rangers had just been thrown to the ground so the two made their appearances known.

"Hey!" Blake yelled "Sorry to burst your bubble! But you forgot about us!"

"About time dude" Shane remarked as he kneeled up from the ground.

"HYAH!" Aria yelled as she sent a stream of black lightning to Shimazu, distracting him and Inflatron for a second. This gave the other four rangers enough time to stand up and join Blake and Aria

"All right guys, let's put 'em together!" Shane called "Thunderstorm Cannon! HYAH!"

The four put their weapons together, only to realize the other two were standing in front of them with their arms crossed.

"Um, Blake, Ri, you with us here?"

"Hang on" Aria warned in a slightly mischievous tone, she had been waiting for a while to use her Thunder Whip in battle

"Ri?" she heard Dustin say

"Blake?" Tori said at the same time

"We know what we're doing" Blake hinted

Both siblings pulled their respective weapons, Blake expertly twirled his Thunder Blade while Aria flicked her Thunder Whip with ease; sparks erupting every time it hit the ground.

"What are those?" Shimazu wondered (A/N: hehe, you said it in head didn't ya?)

Behind his helmet Hunter's eyes widened, "Whoa, what are you guys doing with those?"

"Careful! We don't know what we're dealing with yet!" Shane warned

"Trust us" the two said at the same time

Shimazu quickly whispered in the alien's ear and ran away.

Blake leapt into the air and struck Inflatron in the chest; Aria flicked her wrist and lashed at said alien three times in a row. She then wrapped her whip around him and charged it with electricity while Blake rushed forwards and slashed again. His blade hit one of the balloons protruding from the monster's back but it didn't pop, keeping this in mind Blake struck again as Aria released him from her hold.

"I'll be back" Inflatron groaned before disappearing

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Back at Ops Blake's Thunder Blade rested on the wall and Aria's Thunder Whip was coiled on the table. Cam was sitting in front of the computer analyzing Inflatron while the others surrounded him. Aria peered over his shoulder and read what he found.

"The analysis is almost complete" Cam said, typing a few more keys, "There, see for yourself"

Aria smiled at the newfound information while the others looked at them both waiting for an explanation. Rolling her eyes she started explaining, "In simple terms, Blake was right"

Said Navy Ninja smiled in pride

"Inflatron is a carbon based life form," Cam continued "Comprised of inert gases beny (A/N: I don't know what he said here) in nature"

"So what are we talking about?" Tori asked

Aria played the role of translator, "You can destroy him without making everything else go boom" Tori simply glanced at the girl with a hint of a smile, Aria smiled herself, relieved her best friend is slowly getting over her wild wipeout. (A/N: Badump-ccchhh)

"So the thing was full of hot air after all" Dustin concluded

Blake and Aria turned away from their friends and retrieved their weapons. Blake started twirling his Blade and Aria flicked her wrist, hitting the ground and gaining everyone's attention. They were unaware of the others watching their every move and continued.

"Hey uh, Ri, Blake," Shane said, gaining their focus "You wanna tell us about your new toys?"

"Sensei Omino gave these to us" Aria explained "We were given these the night before the Thunder Academy was taken"

"He told us to take care of them, and that we would know when the time was right to use it." Blake finished

"Didn't he also say you were supposed to train with it?" Hunter brought up.

Blake twirled it again, causing it to cut through the air while Aria lashed her Whip down on a stray brick slab and broke it clean in half.

"Who says we haven't been?" Aria said with a teasing grin before she and Blake walked out of Ops.

Tori and Dustin glanced at each other with narrowed eyes before looking back at the younger Bradley siblings.

 **-Woods of Reefside-**

Blake and Aria raced through the woods, jumping and flipping over fallen trees and branches. Little did they know that Tori and Dustin were a couple yards away, following them to the Thunder Academy. Today was a sparring day for the Bradleys, meaning that the Ominos would just pop out of nowhere and attack; an exercise designed to help strengthen reflexes and quick-thinking. So instead of going through the regular entrance, Blake and Aria decided to use the 'back-door'. They crawled into a small hole which led to a dim tunnel; Blake grabbed a torch and led the way.

They continued down the dark hallway before finally reaching an old metal fence. Blake pushed it open, upon entering him and his sister both tensed, sensing their opponents nearby.

Aria looked up and found Leanne with her own Thunder Whip in hand. She pushed her brother out the way and flicked her wrist slightly, causing the whip to snap at the older Ninja's feet. Leanne leapt over and faced Aria. She was wearing her old Black Thunder Ninja Uniform and she held her Whip in her hand tightly. Liam emerged from some bushes nearby and charged for Blake who quickly blocked his attacks and pushed him back. The two sets of siblings circled each other before attacking. Liam and Leanne, much to Aria's dismay, switched places so that Liam was facing Aria and Leanne faced Blake.

Knowing what buttons to push Liam mocked, "Just like old times" he quipped, slightly muffled by his mask

Aria pushed the growing feeling of anger away and focused on the fight. Liam rushed to her and began swinging his Thunder Blade. She easily dodged and blocked his attacks with her Whip. She flipped over him and began lashing her Whip into the ground, driving him back before letting it coil around his ankle. She yanked hard, knocking him on his back. She stood back up and prepared for another round.

From the ground Liam kicked up, planting two feet on Aria's chest, knocking the breath out her. She shakily stood up and glared, "We're sparring you jack ass" she gasped

Liam rolled his eyes and relaxed his stance. Aria took this opportunity and flipped him onto his back again; she stood over him and flicked her Whip down, centimeters from his face.

"Fuckin' bitch" he grumbled

Flipping him off she stepped over him, not bothering to help him up.

He basically growled at the girl and charged again, only to be met with a punch in the face "WHAT THE FUCK?" he screamed, clutching his now bleeding nose

Aria stared in shock as Dustin punched Liam in the face and Tori rushed over to Blake and started fighting Leanne. However, being the older and wiser ninja she was, Leanne simply used her Whip to wrap around Tori's foot and make her fall to the ground.

Finally reaching her senses Aria grabbed Dustin by the arm and dragged him Blake, Leanne, and the fallen Tori.

Tori sat up clutching her head as Blake helped her up.

"You ok Tor?" he asked

Dustin had a confused look on his face when he saw Leanne stand beside his friends, from behind them Liam stumbled up next to his sister, still holding his nose.

"What're you doing here?" Blake continued with a teasing smile

"We followed you" she admitted, this caused Aria to raise an eyebrow up at her boyfriend who nervously rubbed the back of his neck "And it's a good thing we did" she continued, facing towards Leanne

"Whoa T, you don't understand!" Aria said jumping in front of her old friend before Tori could attack her. Motioning to Liam she continued "Him, do whatever you want"

Now Tori looked just as confused as Dustin, "Tori I want you to meet somebody" Blake said "This is Leanne, and that over there is Liam"

Both removed their masks to reveal themselves to the Blue and Yellow Wind Rangers

"Thunder Ninja Class of 2000" he continued

"2001!" Liam added, a bit nasally considering he was still holding his nose.

"Thunder Ninja?" Dustin repeated, Aria nodded in confirmation

Leanne stepped forward and shook their hands, "They've told me all about you, I'm glad we can finally meet"

"Leanne was a Thunder Whip champion" Aria explained "her little brother, that pathetic excuse for a human, was Thunder Blade Champion" She received a little nudge from Leanne but she kept going "They're helping us train."

"I'm such a doofus" Dustin groaned, rubbing his hands down his face. Aria laughed and grabbed his hands

"You're not a doofus okay; you guys were just looking out for us. So thank you"

He wrapped her in a hug and she gladly returned it.

"Oh please" she heard Liam mumble

She turned her head to face the former Navy Ninja, "Can I help you?"

"He probably doesn't even know anything about you" he remarked

Dustin stepped forward but Aria stopped him, "Oh by all means, tell him what dark secret I might be hiding"

"She's a fucking monster! She almost killed Hunter as a kid!" he roared, Aria watched in amusement, this fool thinks he's actually gonna win this argument. Liam continued talking shit about Aria. While his comments slowly made her more and more agitated Dustin's actions put a smile on her face.

Dustin's face hardened and he grabbed Liam by the collar "You're the one who doesn't know anything about her, and next time you wanna say something about her-"

"What I'm gonna answer to you?" Liam said mockingly

"Oh no, you're gonna answer to her"

Aria stepped forward and for a split second, she allowed herself to let the anger for Liam come over her and let her eyes blacken. Dustin let go of Liam and grabbed her hand, bringing Aria back to reality.

The other three watched in delight, yes Liam was her brother but Leanne remembered what happened with him and Aria two years ago so she quietly laughed at the conversation.

From behind them Kelzaks appeared. All six fell into fighting stances

"Kelzaks here?" Leanne asked in disbelief

"They don't really wait to be invited" Aria answered sarcastically

They met the cronies in the middle and began fighting, the Thunders used their weapons while Tori and Dustin were stuck using hand-to-hand combat. Dustin was called by Hunter and Shane to fight Zurgane, Motodrone, and Shimazu in the woods after a few minutes so he morphed and took off. Later on Blake and Aria were called out to head to the beach; Inflatron returned. Tori confirmed that she and the others could handle the Kelzaks so they ran off and morphed.

"THUNDERSTORM! RANGER FORM!"

 **-Beach-**

Riding on their Tsunami Cycles Blake and Aria rode up to Inflatron firing at will.

"Show me what ya got!" he challenged

Bringing out their weapons the two gladly accepted. As usual, Blake attacked first, jumping up into the air and preparing to strike, only to be thrown down by Inflatron. Keeping her distance Aria snapped her Whip and slashed at the alien, causing him to spark up.

"Stop it that tickles!" he laughed before grabbing the Whip and pulling her down. "Nice weapons, do bad you don't know how to use them!"

He kicked her over to her brother and they both tried to stand back up

"Ugh! Why isn't this working?" Blake groaned

 _-Blake's Flashback-_

 _Liam and Blake were sparring with their Thunder Blades under the watchful eye of Sensei Omino. Liam easily overpowered the younger Navy Ninja and knocked him to the ground. Frustrated, from getting beaten and being stuck with the guy who broke Aria's heart, Blake stopped thinking about the fight and just swung the Blade around, in hopes of winning._

 _"_ _Control your emotions Blake" Sensei Omino reminded "To master the Thunder Blade you must never give into anger"_

 _-End Flashback-_

"I've got to keep focused!" Blake said to himself

Aria looked over to her brother and thought back to when she first started practicing the Thunder Whip

 _-Aria's Flashback-_

 _Leanne was helping Aria with the Thunder Whip as Sensei Omino watched from the side. Although the whole supposed 'Dark-Ninja' debacle was over for two years now Sensei Omino always kept a watchful eye on the young Bradley._

 _A single target stood in front of Aria about 10 feet away, she was supposed to snap the Whip down and split it clean in half. However, all she managed to do was miss the target completely._

 _Frustrated, she threw the Whip down and sat down under the nearby tree. Sensei Omino walked over and stood before her_

 _"_ _Aria, you mustn't get angry over this. Use that energy into your attacks"_

 _-End Flashback-_

"I remember Sensei…" Aria said to herself, she stood up beside her brother

They rushed forwards together but got pushed back again. Inflatron shot out a horde of balloons at the two causing their suits to spark, but they kept their cool and rushed forwards again.

 _-Blake's Flashback-_

 _"_ _The staff can be used in many ways…" Sensei Omino told Blake after his sparring match with Liam_

 _-End Flashback-_

"That's it!" Blake exclaimed

"Huh?" Aria questioned

Blake surprised her and Inflatron when he snapped his Thunder Blade clean in half

"What the?" the alien cried in disbelief

"Ri, do the honors" Blake smiled as he tossed her one half of the Blade. Understanding what her brother was implying, she caught it and expertly threw it at Inflatron.

Using the second half Blake yelled "Sky of Wonder! Power of Thunder!" before flipping in the air and striking Inflatron straight down the middle.

He stumbled back at bit as Aria repeated her big brother's call, "Sky of Wonder! Power of Thunder!" she slashed her lightning charged Whip down and they watched as Inflatron blow up in a fiery explosion.

Both opened their visors just as Shane, Dustin, and Hunter came by.

"Great job guys!" Shane praised

They smiled at their friends and Dustin ran up to the Black Ranger, lifted her in a hug, and spun her around. "That was awesome!" he gushed

She smiled even wider and gave him a kiss, forgetting her brothers were there for a second.

While Hunter got annoyed at the sight of his best friend kissing his baby sister, Blake was distracted by Tori when she finally came by. "I never doubted you" she said to him. They stared at each other for a second when all of a sudden a giant Inflatron appeared.

"You just had to ruin the moment didn't ya Lothor?!" Aria yelled at the sky while sticking both middle fingers in the air.

"Cam, its zord time!" Shane said through his morpher

"I'm right with you guys" Cam confirmed before the six other rangers leapt into their zords.

Both teams combined right away to form the Thunderstorm Megazord. Inflatron attached its balloons to the megazord which caused them to float up into the air, allowing Inflatron to blast them. The six fell to the ground just as Cam called the Mammothzord. They combined with the massive vehicle and blasted at the balloon monster. In their own cockpits the rangers let out shouts of victory and celebration at yet another victory.

 **-Beach-**

Blake, Aria, Leanne, and Liam were all walking along the beach. Aria had her guitar case in hand and all three were all talking about old memories at the Academy while Liam was sulking beside his older sister.

"We were studying in Nepal when the Thunder Academy was attacked" Leanne admitted "We came back and there was nothing but a big hole in the ground where the school used to be. Our father and everybody else, gone"

"How'd you guys escape anyway?" Liam asked grumpily

Blake laughed awkwardly, "Uh, it's a long story"

Out of the blue Aria said, "Ya know, Sensei Omino will come back. I know he will"

"I hope so" Leanne admitted

"I know so" Blake added "There's a lot of good people working to make sure all the ninja's return home safely"

"Thanks, it's nice to know someone cares"

Aria spotted Tori and Dustin walking down to the beach, she nudged her brother and motioned to the blonde surfer, "Yeah, we know what you mean" she smiled

Leanne looked over and saw the Blue and Yellow Rangers and playfully rolled her eyes. "My little Ari's all grown up" she teased.

"Shove it" she retorted

"Let us know if you want any more training"

"You got it Lee, thanks, you to Liam" she sighed

"What?" the former ninja asked

"For letting me find someone who REALLY likes me" she said before walking over to Dustin. The two of them walked back up the beach leaving Tori and Blake by themselves.

 **-Cliff-**

Aria and Dustin walked to 'Aria's Spot' and just sat them in each other's arms before Dustin asked the question Aria was dreading.

"Can I ask who Liam was?"

Aria sighed and after a few seconds she said "Remember when I said you were my first heartbreak?"

Dustin nodded and waited patiently for her to finish her story

"I wasn't entirely truthful…"

"What do you mean?" he didn't know whether to be mad or relieved that he wasn't her first heartbreak

Sighing again Aria revealed her past with Liam "He was my first boyfriend; we got together about two years ago. It was when no one but my family knew about…my powers. After about five months or something I thought I should come clean" tears started to form in her eyes.

She didn't know why she was about to cry, all this was in the past anyway

Dustin continued listening, wrapping his arms around her tighter "The next day I'm getting pinned down by the Academy Guard, telling me that I'm under suspicion of using Dark Ninja Powers. It took days, almost weeks, to convince Sensei Omino that I don't even know what these fucking powers are. Ever since then, Liam would call me freak, monster, anything else you could think of"

He heard the hurt in her voice and he pulled her closer into him, their bodies molded together and Aria couldn't help but feel better with him.

Dustin looked down at her and shocked her with the seriousness and seriousness in his voice, "Listen to me Ri, he clearly doesn't know who you are. You are not a monster; you are an amazing fighter and an even more amazing person."

She smiled and basically forgot about Liam and his harsh comments. Pulling away from him Aria said "I got a new song" she smiled

Pulling her guitar from its case she began her song

 _Remember those walls I built?  
Well, baby they're tumbling down  
And they didn't even put up a fight  
They didn't even make a sound  
I found a way to let you in  
But, I never really had a doubt  
Standing in the light of your halo  
I got my angel now_

 _It's like I've been awakened  
Every rule I had you breakin'  
It's the risk that I'm taking  
I ain't never gonna shut you out!_

 _Everywhere I'm looking now  
I'm surrounded by your embrace  
Baby, I can see your halo  
You know you're my saving grace  
You're everything I need and more  
It's written all over your face  
Baby, I can feel your halo  
Pray it won't fade away_

 _I can feel your halo, halo, halo  
I can see your halo, halo, halo  
I can feel your halo, halo, halo  
I can see your halo, halo...  
Halo, ooh ooh..._

 _Hit me like a ray of sun  
Burning through my darkest night  
You're the only one that I want  
Think I'm addicted to your light  
I swore I'd never fall again  
But this don't even feel like falling  
Gravity can't forget to pull me back to the ground again_

 _And it's like I've been awakened  
Every rule I had you breakin'  
It's the risk that I'm taking  
I'm never gonna shut you out!_

 _Everywhere I'm looking now  
I'm surrounded by your embrace  
Baby, I can see your halo  
You know you're my saving grace  
You're everything I need and more  
It's written all over your face  
Baby, I can feel your halo  
Pray it won't fade away_

 _I can feel your halo, halo, halo  
I can see your halo, halo, halo  
I can feel your halo, halo, halo  
I can see your halo, halo...  
Halo, ooh ooh...  
I can feel your halo, halo, halo  
I can see your halo, halo, halo  
I can feel your halo, halo, halo  
I can see your halo, halo...  
Halo, ooh ooh...  
Halo, ooh ooh...  
Halo, ooh ooh, oh..._

When Aria finished, something took hold of her, "I love you Dustin" it's been a couple of months but Aria just went with it

"I love you too" he smiled, leaning in and kissing her deeply and passionately

(A/N: Song is "Halo" by Beyonce, if you wanna hear how it's supposed to sound, listen to Queen B's acoustic version. REVIEW/FOLLOW!)


	28. Chapter 27

_(Disclaimer: Don't own it, I own all OCs)_

 **Chapter 27: Eye of the Storm**

 **-Storm Chargers-**

It was near closing time and Aria and her brothers were waiting in Storm Chargers for their friends to arrive while Aria and Hunter were having a very heated discussion

"I still don't get why I can't hang out with Lila" Hunter said as he rolled his eyes

"Because, Hunter, Lila is one of my best friends" she countered

He frowned "Uh, hello, Dustin is my friend"

"We met him at the same time" she reminded

At that moment Dustin walked over and overheard Aria and Hunter's ongoing argument

"I don't wanna see you and Lils all…couple-y" Aria continued with a gag

Blake decided to add his own two cents, "Ahem, remember last week" he said referring to when they defeated Inflatron

"Traitor…"

The two brothers laughed

Dustin chuckled at the sight of the three of them; they really had a strong bond between them. Deciding to prevent another argument he spoke up, "Where's Shane? Tsunami Cycle training is like the one class I don't wanna be late for"

At those words Shane finally entered the shop, "There he is" Hunter pointed

"Hey man, what's up? You don't look so good" Dustin asked his best friend

"Yeah I just found out my big brother is coming into town" he said weakly

Seeing an opportunity Aria went for it, "Yeah that's bum me out too"

Dustin laughed while Blake and Hunter shoved her slightly

"No dude for real, what's going on?"

"Nah it's just, ya know he's like the perfect son…he's successful, got a job, nice house. He's not much into skateboarding" Shane listed

Aria couldn't help but relate to what Shane was feeling. Yes the three of them were considered the best back at their Academy, but she always felt like her brothers were always favored over her. It was especially obvious with Sensei Omino, after Liam ratted her out.

"Why doesn't he try motocross?" Dustin offered, earning a light slap on the arm from Aria

"So not the point dude"

"Trust me, it's gonna take more than some big air to mellow up my brother" Shane concluded as the four walked out the shop to meet up with Tori.

 **-Quarry-**

Upon reaching the quarry Blake greeted Torii with a big hug causing a small smile to tug on both Hunter and Aria's lips. The two Blues only became an official couple after Inflatron. Apparently they too had a little moment on the beach and decided to make things official.

"And here I present another reason why I should be able to go out with Lila. Both my baby brother AND sister are dating people and I'm here all alone" Hunter exaggerated

Aria playfully punched him in the arm "Oh shut up and morph"

After morphing the Thunders faced the Winds; Dustin called Cam to ask him to send their bikes down, however, only the Thunders' Tsunami Cycles appeared

"Cam says our bikes won't be ready for a week" Dustin groaned

Shane and Tori walked forward to the Crimson and Navy Tsunami Cycles

"Well, looks like we'll have to just practice with these two" Shane suggested

"I'm game" Tori smiled behind her helmet

"Uh, how about no…you know how it took me to make those things?" Aria groaned

"Um, careful" Hunter warned

Dustin turned from his friends, he (before the Thunders joined) was the bike guy and he knew when a bike was too powerful for him, "Ugh, I can't watch" he cringed turning around "This is gonna be ugly"

The Red and Blue Wind Rangers revved the engines on the borrowed bikes

"Uh, guys?" Blake called only seconds before both of them started spinning out of control

"Careful!" Aria cried

"They're too powerful!" Blake added

They were thrown off the bikes and the Navy and Crimson Cycles laid on the ground smoking

"Ugh, come on man…" Aria grumbled she had a lot of work ahead of her.

"Sorry guys" the two Winds said at the same time before bowing their heads.

 **-Later-**

Blake and Dustin wheeled the Navy Tsunami Cycle into the Mobile Command Center while the others watched

"Yep, you tweaked them real good" Aria remarked

"Wow, that was…productive" Hunter added

Tori smiled slightly and turned to Shane, "Come on Shane, we can't let these guys show us up!"

Shane was pulled out of a daze and looked to his friends "Oh, sorry Tor, I can't really focus right now"

Blake came up behind them and grabbed Tori's hand, "Your brother's visit is really getting to you huh?"

"Yeah…Look I gotta go, I'm supposed to meet him at the skate park and he'll totally freak if I'm late"

Dustin then joined the group and snaked an arm around Aria's waist "Hey, don't worry about it man, it's been a while, maybe he's changed" she offered

Shane nodded as a thank you and took off

Hunter looked to his right and saw his younger siblings with their significant others and he was about to speak up again

He was stopped however by Aria "I swear to God dude!"

 **-Ninja Ops-**

After their training Aria returned to Ops to fix the cycles. While she was working she got a call from Lila and Nanami, putting them on three way

"Heeeyyyy" Lila greeted

Aria and Nanami laughed

"Hey Lils" the two greeted

"Sooo," Nanami began "Have we ever told you how much we love ya?"

Aria's face fell, "What do you two want?"

A few silent minutes passed before Lila spoke up

"Okay, enough beating around the bush…hook us up girl!"

"Uh, what?"

"Hunter and Cam! Hook me and Nami up!"

Aria stopped what she was doing "Um, why?"

Nanami stayed silent on the line while Lila continued

"Come on Ri! Help a sister out"

Aria was close to ripping her hair out, first Hunter and now Lila and Nami.

To be honest, she was reluctant to play matchmaker. Hunter and Cam were rangers, Lila and Nanami weren't, it was that simple. She and Tori were lucky enough to find someone who knew what their lives were like. Lils and Nami were civilians, they could never know about their lives as Ninjas let alone Rangers. Even worse was that, that was all Cam and Hunter's lives were; train, fight Lothor's goons, sleep, and repeat.

Sighing deeply she spoke through the phone, "I'll think about it…listen I gotta go do something, I'll call you guys later"

She hung up and continued repairing her brother's Tsunami Cycles. After about thirty minutes she was finally done, she went to her to change and then left for the city.

 **-City-**

Now wearing a deep purple cropped sweatshirt, her black shorts, ripped tights and combat boots she walked around the city. When she left Ops Cam occupied the computer so now she was searching for her friends.

When she finally spotted them she also found a mob of people with weird looking collars screaming and panicking

Soon after Cam also joined them as more and more people started running around in fear

"What's the deal?" Aria shouted over the terrified screams

A random guy in a Hawaiian shirt came up to the six of them yelling about dogs before running away like a mad man

"You guys see any dogs?" Dustin asked looking around

"Only that dog faced freak!" Blake said pointing to a gold, hideous looking creature standing with Motodrone and a group of Kelzaks

"Ok, what the fuck is that?" Aria asked in disgust

"Rangers," Motodrone began "Let me help you face your fears. Eyezak!"

The alien, now known as Eyezak, swung down his long droopy arms and released a bright yellow blast at the six of them.

They weren't knocked to the ground but it still made them stumble back

"What are we waiting for?" Aria asked

Cam took the lead, followed by Dustin and Tori, while the Thunders completed the pyramid

"Ready?"

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"SAMURAI STORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Ranger Storm Power!"

Ending with their primary weapons already drawn, Motodrone removed his brown cloak and ordered the attack.

As usual the Kelzaks charged first and the rangers met them in the middle. Dustin was fighting a group of them when Motodrone grabbed his arm and threw him to the awaiting group of the red and black freaks and held his arms back as Eyezak stepped forward.

"Do it Eyezak!" he commanded

Aria heard this and saw Dustin on his knees and Eyezak standing above him.

"Black Daggers!" she called

Eyezak's eyes glowed before a blast shot out towards the Yellow Ranger, thinking fast she summoned a ball of lightning and changed the direction of Eyezak's attack; it instead hit one of the Kelzaks holding Dustin down and a strange looking collar appeared on its neck.

Dustin rolled out of the way as Cam and Aria made their way over

"Hey you ok?" she asked

"I'm good Ri, thanks. But what is that thing?"

"I dunno, but it looks nasty"

"Hey where's Shane?" Cam asked

"No idea"

Both Cam and Aria tried calling their leader but he didn't seem to be answering, giving up they went back to fight.

After a few minutes Aria noticed Shane running up to them, "Hey glad you could make it!" she said sarcastically

"Join the party!" Hunter added

Shane smiled a little at his friends sarcastic remarks, threw his backpack down, and morphed

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

With their team now complete, the Kelzaks were no trouble for them. as more and more cronies started to surround him Shane decided to step it up

"You wanna play rough? BATTILIZER! BATTILIZER FLIGHT MODE!"

Soaring overhead Shane easily shot down the remaining Kelzaks with his lasers.

From the ground Aria looked up with a small grin, "Show off"

Motodrone and Eyezak disappeared and Shane landed on the ground. The six remaining rangers walked over and cheered him on. None of them seemed to notice Shane's older brother, Porter, was standing behind a pillar.

De-morphing Shane separated from his friends once again to meet with his brother while the others left to go to Ops. Dustin and Aria had their arms around each other while they walked to their secret base, Blake and Tori were holding hands, Hunter was walking with his hands in his pockets, and Cam was a few paces behind talking into his cell phone.

In fact, for the past couple of days Cam had been pretty attached to it. If he wasn't on the computer working and training he was most likely talking into his phone. It got the other rangers wondering who exactly it was.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Finally reaching Ops Aria and Cam set to work on figuring those strange looking collars out.

"So we've analyzed the brain waves of the people Eyezak attacked, seems his collar can unlock a person's deepest fears" Cam explained

"That's low, even for Lothor" Tori commented

"We better make the repairs to the Tsunami Cycles just in case" Hunter suggested

"Someone had a little accident" Blake teased his girlfriend

Aria smirked "Already done brotha'"

"Sweet!" Dustin exclaimed as all the rangers excluding Cam turned to walk out the door "We'll go with you, some of us could use the practice" he teased Tori

"One little spill and suddenly you're a road hazard?" Tori asked with a laugh

Aria looked over and said "Hun, this isn't your first 'little spill' Blake told us what you did to Dustin's bike when we came back"

They all laughed at the memory as Shane walked in

 **-Quarry-**

The five rangers were morphed and doing their own thing; Hunter and Blake were racing their newly repaired Tsunami Cycles while the other three were sparring. The three took a short break and opened their visors, they watched as the two brothers raced by when Tori asked Aria "Hey, not to sound rude or anything, but why didn't you fix our Tsunami Cycles?"

"Our bikes may have the same basic programming thanks to Cam but I amped our Cycles to be faster and more powerful" Aria explained "If I tried to fix your bikes I would have done more damage than good"

A few more minutes passed and Aria was demonstrating knife throwing to Tori and Dustin. The target was a good 20 feet away and she managed to hit the bulls-eye every time.

Dustin and Tori were now trying to copy Aria's throws, 'trying' being the key word, while she practiced with her Thunder Whip.

After a while they had decided to go back to Ops but were instead called by Cam to head back to the city. Eyezak was back and they needed to help Shane who had gone by himself to protect his brother.

 **-City-**

The five of them rode up to Eyezak and Motodrone on the Thunders' Tsunami Cycles, they blasted them and found Shane with a collar on his neck clutching his head.

"We might be too late!" Aria cried as Tori ran over to their leader. Dustin followed and crouched near the Red Ranger.

Eyezak go a hold of their arms and Aria rushed forward. Using her Thunder Staff, she tried to slash the gold freak's arms but only got caught in Eyezak's blast.

"NOOOO!" was the last thing she heard her brothers scream before her deepest fear unraveled before her.

While Dustin's was free-falling and Tori's was getting her hair cut Aria's was much darker.

 _-Aria's Fear-_

 _Aria was in a square pitch black room with a single spotlight around her; she was wearing her Thunder Ninja Uniform. She looked around and noticed that the ground of her was scorched black. Looking down at her hands her gloves were burnt off. Tears welled in her eyes "No, no, no…"_

 _Looking around she saw another spotlight appear, her brothers stepped into the light._

 _"_ _Help me…" she begged_

 _Her brother's faces remained stone cold "Like we'd help a monster like you" Hunter said darkly_

 _"_ _We welcomed you in our family and you attack Hunter" Blake added_

 _"_ _I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" she sobbed_

 **-City-**

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" she sobbed. Aria de-morphed a while ago and she was rolling on the ground with tears streaming down her face, her hair was a wild mess as she rolled around, the black aura slowly encasing her body

Blake and Hunter ran to their sister and tried to wake her up

"Ri, Aria, come on man!" Blake cried slightly shaking her shaking body before pulling away in pain from the black energy

"Aria wake up! We're here!" Hunter tried

However, they couldn't do much as a giant Eyezak appeared before them.

 _-Aria's Fear-_

 _Her brothers walked away from her as Dustin appeared in their place. Her chest contracted as she started to hyperventilate and her eyes were red from crying and her throat was raw from sobbing so loud._

 _"_ _Dustin…please…" she croaked_

 _Dustin's eyes were hard and emotionless; he just stared at the poor girl and didn't bother helping her_

 _"_ _Please, I love you…"_

 _Dustin finally spoke "How could I love a monster like you?"_

 _"_ _No…no…please don't leave me…"_

 _Finally, a new figure replaced Dustin. She had long, black, curly locks and glowing red eyes. She was wearing a tight black leather bodysuit and tall boots. She also had massive black wings and red tipped talons; it was either blood, or its natural hue._

 _Aria's chest contracted again, "Who are you?" she gasped_

 _The new figure stepped farther into the light and smirked, "I'm you…but stronger"_

 _Aria fell back on her butt and scooted away from herself_

 _"_ _You have more power than you've ever dreamed of, I can show you everything" her evil self said walking closer to her._

 _Aria was hyperventilating again and had more tears flowing down her face._

 _All of a sudden, Aria could hear the calm voice of Sensei_

 _"_ _Aria…"_

 _"_ _Sensei?" she croaked_

 _"_ _Face your fear, you must believe in yourself to overcome your fears"_

 _"_ _I hear you Sensei…"_

 _Aria closed her eyes for a few seconds, clutching her beloved silver necklace. When she opened them she stood up and stared at her evil self in the eye._

 _"_ _I'll never become you!" she screamed_

 _Her necklace glowed a light purple again as a glowing, white figure appeared next to her. Going with her instincts she grabbed its hand and stretched their joined hands and fired a bright white light at her. She burst into a shower of a black shimmering substance. In a flash of light she was back in the city_

 **-City-**

Aria stood up only to collapse again, thankfully she was caught by Dustin who steadied her on her feet. She looked down at her hands only to see that she had de-morphed and was back in her Ninja Uniform.

"What's going on?" she asked

Through Shane's morpher Cam spoke up "You're okay Aria, but listen up, you may have broken Eyezak's spell, but the only way to destroy the nightmare collar completely is to destroy Eyezak. Use the zords to distract him until I get there."

"Ok" Shane said in confirmation

"Aria, you're too drained for a full on zord battle, just wait in you Scarabzord until I'm there"

Aria, who was still leaning on Dustin agreed and morphed.

"Tori, Dustin, use the zords to ride into the belly of the beast, it's the only way to get Hunter and Blake" Cam continued

The two agreed and they all split up.

With much effort and help from Shane, Aria was able to get into her zord's cockpit and followed Cam's directions. Any other time someone told her not to engage in a zord battle she would've smacked them upside the head, but she had to admit, whatever she went through drained her.

Her zord was a safe distance from the battle and she watched her friends do their jobs. Tori and Dustin jumped into Eyezak's mouth and retrieved Hunter and Blake, within minutes the four got out. Cam soon joined the party as well. The remaining four rangers leapt into their zords, it was Aria's time to join in. now the three different megazords stood beside each other.

Cam sent down a new Power Disk to each megazord. The three Spheres combined to make the new Ninja Firebird a new auxiliary zord that allowed all three megazords to combine.

"Initiate Hurricane Megazord!" Cam called

The megazord was formed and it was amazing. All seven rangers sat together in the cockpit; Winds in front, Thunders in the middle, and Cam in the back.

"HURRICANE MEGAZORD!" they all cried

Eyezak blasted them again and the four collared rangers started to panic

"I'm losing it!" Tori cried

"No…I'm sorry…" Aria sobbed, her body starting to glow black from the constant fear.

"Ah, I'm falling!" Dustin yelled

"Believe in yourselves!" Shane yelled through gritted teeth.

It wasn't much but it helped them put their fears at bay for a little while longer.

The megazord slashed its sword down on to Eyezak but he only stumbled back a bit. They finally decided to pull out the big guns.

"TYPHOON POWER!" the seven rangers called

The final blast finally destroyed Eyezak and the horrifying collars

While the Rangers cheered Aria de-morphed and collapsed in her seat.

"ARIA!"

 **-Later-**

Aria woke up in her room and felt something on her hand. She looked down and saw Dustin sitting on her desk chair hunched over and holding her hand.

Aria smiled before remembering what she saw with that 'Fear Collar'. The sudden jolt caused Dustin to shoot his head up

"Hey you're awake" he smiled, that smile faded however when Aria didn't respond after a few minutes "What's wrong"

Aria remained silent as a few silent tears came down her face

Dustin grabbed her hands "Ri, listen, whatever you saw I promise I will never let that happen to you" he vowed

"How'd you know that was bothering me?"

He chuckled a little "Because you didn't say anything sarcastic when you woke up"

Aria raised an eyebrow at him "Also, you passed out after the collar was removed, we all knew that whatever you saw must've been bad"

"Better answer"

Aria pulled him into a tight hug

"What would I do without you?"

Dustin climbed into her bed and lied beside her where they fell asleep in each other's arms.

(A/N: Awww cute Dustin/Aria moment. Review/Follow pwease...)


	29. Chapter 28

_(Disclaimer: PRNS doesnt belong to me, Aria and original plot + dialogue is mine)_

 **Chapter 28: General Deception part I**

 **-Storm Chargers-**

It was bright and early in the morning and as usual the rangers, excluding Cam, were at Storm Chargers. However, they were all packing up for a camping trip the boys planned.

Tori and Aria were attempting to fit all the boys' stuff into Tori's blue van without causing an avalanche, 'attempting' is the important word here. The boys on the other hand just kept hauling out more stuff from the shop

They turned around and leaned against the over packed trunk as they kept bringing more junk out. Aria was beyond annoyed that she had to wake up early; she was a night-owl and hated waking up any time before nine am. So instead of wearing her typical shorts and crop top she was wearing leggings and a grey sweatshirt.

"I thought you guys were only going for a few days" Tori complained

"Yeah, is all this shit even necessary?" Aria added

"Yes, yes it is" Hunter answered going back into the shop to get more crap as Dustin walked out carrying a T.V

"You're fucking joking….a T.V? Really?" now Aria was getting even more annoyed, they're going _camping_ for crying out loud!

"How else are we gonna watch Supercross tomorrow?" her boyfriend smiled in response

"You're not supposed to watch Supercross Dustin" Tori sighed as the two girls closed the trunk to the van

"That's why it's called roughing it" Aria said

Shane, Hunter, and Blake walked out with the last few 'necessities'

Overhearing what Aria said, Shane commented, "If man was supposed to 'rough it' then why did he create portable generators?"

After taking her seat besideTori in the van Aria turned and glared at the guy in red, "Don't make me hurt you Clarke"

At first he laughed it off but when she quirked her eyebrow up his laughter fizzled out when he realized her seriousness to that threat.

The other guys laughed at the interaction and gave his friend and pat on the shoulder in mock-sincerity

"Just get in the van before I change my mind" Tori laughed "Or Ri kills Shane"

"Thanks for giving us a ride" Blake said before climbing in beside his sister in the front

"No problem, I wouldn't miss seeing you guys out in wild for the world"

"Plus this way we'll know when to find you when things go horribly wrong" Aria smirked at her brother

"Come on we're highly trained ninja's…what could happen?"

Aria sighed deeply and leaned her head back, closing her eyes and said "And you jinxed it"

With the other three rangers in the back Tori started the over-packed van and headed off to the woods

 **-On the Road-**

Aria hummed along with the radio, thinking about Hunter's comment from a few weeks ago,

 _"And here I present another reason why I should be able to go out with Lila. Both my baby brother AND sister are dating people and I'm here all alone" Hunter exaggerated_

Although she was still concerned with Lila, Hunter, Nanami, and Cam all forming relationships with each other, she couldn't help but feel a little bad for the crimson ranger.

Sure Shane was technically single too but at the same time Skyla, who is basically his soul-mate, would be with him forever.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Tori cut the music completely and Dustin asked probably the most random question he's ever come up with

"Hey, you guys wonder why the sky's blue and not…see through?"

After a collection of 'no's and weird looks Dustin continued, "Well, I mean it's just air, it should be see-through! You ever wonder about that?"

Aria was about to turn around and explain but caught Blake shaking his head, signaling her to not even try to explain the age old question, 'Why's the sky blue?'

Shane answered instead, "Uh Dustin, I'm the air guy, ya know 'Power of Air'? You worry about the dirt and wonder why it's brown" he laughed

Deciding to poke fun at Shane Aria turned around to face him, "Ok 'Air Guy' why's the sky blue?"

Shane laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck

The group burst into laughter as they headed deeper into the woods

About thirty minutes later Aria dozed off; she was awakened when she heard cries of help coming from the side of the road.

"This does not look good" she breathed when she noticed the girl crying for help was wearing rock-climbing gear

"The last time we stopped on the side of the road our school got sucked into space" Dustin reminded as Tori pulled over.

The six of them piled out and faced the woman who was calling for their help

"You alright?" Tori asked

"It's my friend, we need help, do you guys have a rope?" the woman explained

"You didn't happen to pack a rope with the T.V and CD player did you?" Aria said to the boys somewhat sarcastically

"As a matter of fact I did!" Shane exclaimed before running to the trunk and digging out a long black rope out. "GOT IT!"

 **-Cliff-**

The six followed the woman to a cliff where a large group of people were standing around, on the side of the cliff there was another girl clutching on the side for dear life.

The woman ran to the edge and peered over, Tori pulled her back a little as she explained what happened "We were abseiling when her rope broke, she's stuck"

Shane crawled to the edge and peered over "…shit…" he cursed when he saw the drop

"HELP ME! HELP ME!" the girl cried

"HOLD ON!" Shane reassured "WE'RE GET YOU OUTTA THERE!"

"Lower me down, I'm the lightest" Aria said

Not having the time to argue her brothers reluctantly agreed

Tori was comforting the poor woman while the others huddled up, "We should be ready to bail and go into ranger mode if things get to ugly" Shane whispered

"Reading my mind bro" Hunter agreed

Within minutes Aria was set to go down the cliff. Dustin gave her a hug while Shane, Hunter, and Blake double checked the ropes.

"K, we're ready" Shane called

"HURRY!" the girl cried from the side of the cliff

"Check" Dustin confirmed

Aria looked behind her and slowly made her decent

"Pick up the slack guys!" Shane called as she continued her way down

Aria gracefully jumped on the side of the cliff and made her way to the terrified girl. When she finally made it she gently grabbed the girl's shoulder

"Hey, don't worry, I'm gonna get you outta here okay?" she consoled. The poor girl had her own rope in a death grip, hyperventilating and her eyes were shut tight in fear. The girl wouldn't answer her and Aria was getting nervous, "Hey you okay?"

Below them Zurgane appeared and laughed, pointing the newly upgraded P.A.M at the girl he fired a laser, transforming her into a Kelzak Fury. Aria gasped and retracted her hand from the red and black foot soldier.

On the cliff edge Dustin was standing by Aria's rope when he noticed it move, panic filled him to the brim, "IT'S SLIPPING!" he yelled as he kneeled over the edge. Hunter and Blake rushed forwards and joined him

"Ri!" Hunter shouted "Is she all right?"

From behind them the woman spoke in a dark, sinister voice "She's fine" and turned into a Kelzak Fury. The remaining five rangers fell into their fighting stances as the other 'civilians' surrounded them and transformed into more Kelzak Furies.

"I did not see this coming…" Tori mumbled to herself

Soon enough they were all in the midst of battle. Dustin stayed near the edge to keep an eye on Aria's rope. He threw another Kelzak Fury to the ground when he saw the black rope holding Aria up move around.

"ARIA!"

On the side of the cliff Aria was having some issues fighting a single K.F off. It was using its blade to try and cut her rope but she kept blocking its attacks. To give her some time Aria ran along-side the cliff and flipped back and planted a heavy kick to the upgraded Kelzaks' chest. She continued to kick and punch at it but it only did so much.

It soon gained the upper hand when it swept her feet from under her and punch her in the chest, knocking her upside down. She tried to regain her balance but by the time she was able to straighten herself the Kelzak cut her rope.

The wind was knocked out of and she couldn't find her voice to scream

"NOOOO!" she heard Dustin cry

As the ground got closer Aria's senses awakened, "THUNDER STORM! RANGER FORM!" she yelled; seconds before she hit the ground.

"…holy shit…" she started "IT'S GO TIME!" calling her Black Daggers she streaked up the side of the cliff and cut the Kelzak's rope, letting it fall to the ground.

She reached her friends on solid ground as the other Kelzak Furies and Zurgane were about to rush forwards. She opened her arms up to shield her friends "You guys ok?"

"Never better" Shane groaned in pain "I think it's time to clean up these clowns"

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Ninja Ranger Power!"

Now with all six rangers morphed they ran forwards and attacked the remaining Kelzaks.

Blake used the Tornado Staff transformation on his Thunder Staff and slashed three Kelzaks at the same time. He flipped backwards and block their continuous attacks.

Hunter stuck with the normal Thunder Staff but was pushed down onto his knees. Standing back up he swung the Staff around and caught one in the side.

Aria gripped her Black Daggers tightly, slashing anything that came within arm's reach. She summoned a ball of lightning and released it at a group of the foot soldiers, causing them to spark up.

Shane summoned the Gold Mode on his Ninja Sword and easily took a couple of the Kelzaks out.

Tori and Dustin teamed up and also powered up the Gold Mode on their own Ninja Swords. Their combined forces took out an entire group of Kelzaks and forced them to the ground.

Shane ran past the remaining Kelzak Furies and headed for Zurgane, "You wanna play rough? FINE!" he yelled

"BATTLIIZER!"

When they noticed that Shane was hovering over them the other rangers slowly backed off and let him take care of the rest

"LASERS ENGAGE!"

Now with the Kelzak Furies gone and Zurgane disappearing the six rangers de-morphed and called Ops

 **-Road Side-**

While Shane and Hunter went to get the rope from the cliff and call Ops, Dustin, Aria, Blake, and Tori were standing by the van.

"I told ya you jinxed it" Aria smirked at her older brother

Dustin chuckled at her comment and pressed a kiss on her head

"Hey…that's my sister" Blake grumbled, prompting a small laugh from Tori and a glare from Aria

"Ok Sensei whatever you think is best" they heard Shane say "Alright he told us, there's nothing we can do back there that we can't do out here"

"Cool, so we camp?" Dustin questioned from the van

"WE CAMP!" he cheered and slapping Hunter a high-five.

"I still don't see how you guys call it camping" Tori laughed

"Tori, don't say anything until you experience it" Blake said

"Uh, we ain't experiencing anything, we're dropping you off and then we're outta there" Aria spoke up as she took her spot in the middle of the front row.

Shane, Dustin, and Hunter all cheered in excitement when Tori started the car and drove off deeper into the woods.

 **-Campsite-**

After another fifteen minutes they finally reached the campsite. It was hard to tell who was more excited; the boys because they could finally begin their 'camping' trip or Aria because she didn't have to be stuck in a stuffed van with no space to move.

She and Tori pulled all the boys' crap out of the van and turned around to find that the guys managed to set up their 'camp'

"You're fucking joking" Aria cursed at the sight

Their tent was at least three times the size of a normal one and there was a grill to the right of it. They also had an electric fan and even a mini fridge.

Dustin was standing under the roof of the tent, the Bradley brothers were lounging on folding chairs, and Shane was setting up the T.V for them.

"Now this is the life!" Shane smiled

"This isn't camping! This is a resort!"

"All your missing is a water slide and a luau" Tori added

Shane tossed the remote to Dustin who smiled "Now that would be cool!"

The girls stood there in disbelief

"Hey anybody wanna order pizza?" Hunter suggested

The boys cheered in excitement as Aria face-palmed herself

"Except none of the ham and pineapple stuff" Blake added

"Fine" his brother said in an annoyed tone. He went to his cell phone but found that they had no cell service "Guess we're having hamburgers!"

Aria scoffed and threw her hands in the air

"Where's the fridge?" Dustin asked

"I think you guys are missing the point…" Tori said

"Ya think?" Aria commented

"The point is to have fun" Blake exclaimed "You sure you don't wanna stay?"

"Yeah, Ri you wanna chill for a little?" Dustin asked, his gaze focused on the T.V in front of them.

"Hmm, loved to" Aria said sarcastically "But we gotta head back to Ops, Cam needs help with an upgrade"

"But we'll be back to pick you up the day after tomorrow"

"Bye"

"Later dudes" the girls waved

Tori went to the driver's seat while Aria jumped to the back seats and laid down, happy to be able to have more space in the van

The blonde started the engine only to find that they were stuck in a mud hole. She looked over to the boys with an innocent smile expecting them to notice.

When they didn't Aria stuck her head out the window, "Oi! We need help"

When the four guys stood behind the van waiting for Tori to start the engine again Aria looked in the back window and watched as they tried to push the van out of the hole.

When Tori started the engine Aria was trying to hold back laughter as the boys were quickly getting covered with mud. Apparently so was Tori because when they managed to push her out not only did they fall face first into the mud, but she bumped into their portable generator and knocked Aria out of seat.

The boys walked in front of the van and just stared at the blonde who bit her lip nervously.

"Oops…"

While they headed to the shower to get cleaned up Aria and Tori went to work to make up for wrecking their generator. They worked together to fix up burgers for the guys and put their sodas in the cool stream nearby. When they were finished they waited on the rocks by the stream for the boys to come out.

Soon, the four of them returned and Tori stood up to apologize.

"Oh, man I haven't that much mud in my eye since I ran out of tearoffs last week" Dustin complained

Aria laughed softly and stood up as well

"You guys I'm so sorry for your generator" Tori apologized

"Ah, it's not your fault, things happen" Blake reassured

"How was the shower?" Aria asked

"Uh, you could say it refreshing…" Shane began

"But cold is more like it" Hunter finished

"Well," Aria began with a smile "we know this doesn't make up for T running over your generator, but your burgers are on the grill and your sodas are getting cold in the stream"

The boys' faces lit up as Blake went to check the grill "You're forgiven!" he laughed when he saw multiple burger patties on the grill

He went over to Tori and kissed her cheek while Aria was picked up by Dustin in a bear hug.

When she was released Aria looked over to Hunter, "Oh hey Hunter! Here" she grinned as she handed a slip of paper to him.

Opening it he saw

 _555-1212_

 _Call me_

 _-Lila_

"Why?" he asked

"Well, one, Lila won't shut up about you, two, an added apology for the whole generator thing and three, to torture you" Aria smirked

"How is this torturing me?" he laughed

"Because you have to wait two days before you can actually call her"

His face fell and she and the others laughed

The fun was short live however when they saw two figures streak down to the quarry nearby

"Come on" Shane commanded

 **-Quarry-**

The six of them streaked to the quarry and found Vexacus, the shark alien Shane met with Skyla, and Shimazu

"Thought I smelled garbage" Hunter commented at the sight of the two generals

"Oh we'll see you gets trashed!" Vexacus snapped

"Hey, no offense, but you two don't look like the outdoor types" Aria said

"We're not; we just came to watch your ultimate demise"

Aria almost went up to Tori and smacked her upside the head when she said, "Don't you mean cause our ultimate demise?"

"Ok, I like your way better, HYAH!" he yelled, firing a blast at them

"Can we never have a day off?" Aria groaned

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Ninja Ranger Power!"

They all flipped into action; Shane took the lead and headed for Vexacus first. He was pushed aside and Dustin ran ahead only to be knocked away as well. Tori went next and received the same fate as her teammates.

Shane tried to attack again from behind but was met with an elbow to the gut. Dustin swung his Ninja Sword up but got his arm caught by the overgrown shark. Even after being thrown aside again Dustin stood back up again. Thrown down again Shane and Tori rushed over and combined their weapons.

Before they could fire however, Vexacus fired his own blast at them, causing them to spark up and drop the Storm Striker.

"You like spaghetti?" Vexacus mocked as he sent out three tendrils of energy at the Winds. He lifted them into the air and caused them to knock into one another before dropping them.

At the same time all that was happening, the Bradleys were battling Shimazu. Blake leapt forward and grabbed Shimazu around the waist with his Navy Antlers.

"Not this time!" he laughed as he escaped Blake's grip and punched and struck the Navy Ranger numerous times in the chest. With a swift kick to the back Blake was knocked to the ground.

"Thunder Staff! Tornado Star!" Hunter called standing in front of his younger brother as Aria went to check on him.

Hunter sent a blast at Shimazu who merely laughed and disappeared

"Where'd he go?" Aria asked as she helped Blake to his knees

At her words a giant Shimazu head came rushing towards them with a lashing tongue…literally.

At his first attack the three of them tucked and rolled but when he came around for a second time he caught them by surprise and sent red blasts from his eyes and knocked the Thunders to the ground; ranger suits sparking

The six regrouped, limping and stumbling from their battle wounds

"Fools, you have met your match!" Shimazu taunted

"You are finished rangers" Vexacus added as they slowly walked towards them

Suddenly the two generals were fired upon; they turned around and saw Cam flip over them.

"I picked up something on the radar, something coming this way" the green ranger informed

"What? Worse than these two super-freaks?" Shane asked grabbing Cam's shoulders

"Yeah way worse"

"Hey rangers!" Vexacus called "No one is worse than us!"

"I'll have to agree"

"No one messes up my weekend!" Hunter yelled, things were going so good for him before these two showed up.

They formed the Thunderstorm Canon and fired, however Shimazu and Vexacus managed to block their attack and use it against them. they were thrown to the ground as Cam watched helplessly, "GUYS!"

If things could get any worse….it did. The ground started to shake and a zord appeared from the ground

"What is that thing?" Shane asked

"Zurgane!" Cam concluded

"Ugh, I'm fucking over this!" Aria basically screamed in a mix of anger and frustration

With much effort the six fallen rangers stood up

"You're on Zurgane!" Shane challenged

Streaking up into their individual zords all seven rangers were set for battle.

"Let's do it!"

"YEAH!"

In seconds the three megazords were formed. In that same amount of time both Aria noticed that something wasn't right. When a power sphere was called a red light encased it but there was no defensive attack.

It was too easy and this worried the curly-haired computer nerd. Suddenly, Zurgane attacked out of nowhere. Yellow energy surged through the megazords causing all three to spark up a storm.

The megazords fell in smoking heaps of metal

 **To Be Continued….**

(A/N: Ok so that's that, please review and whatnot. And i think Imma do this from now on, udate every Saturday. Also I'm thinking of starting a _Now You See Me_ fanfic, it'd follow the plot of the movie but I'm not sure how it'd turn out. So please let me know if this is something you'd read. xoxo.


	30. Chapter 29

(Disclaimer: We all know it already...)

 **Chapter 29: General Deception part II**

It took a few minutes for the Thunder and Storm Megazords to start up again. Seeing an opportunity Zurgane raised his blade to deliver the final blow, only to be blocked by Cam and his Samurai Star megazord; using its chest-plate as a shield.

"Whoa! Where'd you get that mode Cam?" Shane asked through the com-link

"I am in charge of the upgrades remember"

The Thunders finally stood back up as Zurgane charged for Cam and the others. They fired lasers at the no-faced general and knocked his zord to the ground.

"Um hey! Battle going on here!" Aria laughed "Questions later please"

"You guys ready to finish this?" Hunter asked

The other six rangers gave cheers of agreement, well except for Aria. She was still worried that something else was happening. The others clearly didn't feel the same as Cam, Shane, and Hunter released the Power Spheres to create the Ninja Firebird; and once again a shining red light appeared from Zurgane's zord.

Now armed with their Hurricane Megazord the rangers wasted no time with their attack. They sent a vortex hurtling to the zord causing it to finally blow up.

However, Aria saw a small black figure leap out the zord and onto the ground. This was obviously not the first time they've had a zord fight with Zurgane, so Aria wasn't surprised that he ejected, what was bothering her was still the fact that he didn't even attempt to fight back.

This time, she wasn't the only one thinking this because as the others cheered, saying how they finally defeated Zurgane

"Don't be so sure," Cam warned "Zurgane's smart"

"But we trashed his zord" Hunter said in response

"Even if he got out he's got nothing" Dustin added

Aria spoke up "I agree with Cam, something doesn't feel right. It was too easy"

"You call that easy?" Blake said in disbelief at his sister

"He barely fought back guys…"

"Go back to your campsite," Cam said the others "I gotta check something at Ops"

"I'll go with you; this suddenly feels like the whole Madtropolis thing again"

"I'll come too!" Tori exclaimed eagerly "I'm over the whole camping thing"

"Let us know if you find anything out" Shane said before they disassembled the Megazord and went their separate ways.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

After a _long_ drive back to Blue Bay; due to Tori's reluctance to leave her pride and joy with the boys and Cam's Star Chopper not having enough room for two people, Aria and Cam were finally able to work together to figure out Zurgane's plan.

Aria told Tori and Cam her theory on their recent battle

"I'm telling you, this is like Madtropolis" she repeated "It was like he kept pushing us to fight."

"Maybe…" Cam said as he stared intently at the computer screen in front of him

"You find something?" Tori asked

"I'm getting a weird energy reading; looks like Zurgane used some sort of power replicator on us"

Hearing this Aria threw her arms up in the air in victory "I hate to say it…oh who am I kidding? I told you guys"

Ignoring her somewhat childish reaction Tori asked "What does that mean?"

"Let me be blunt...it means we're fucked"

Seconds later, lo and behold, another zord appeared on the computer screen in front of them.

"Well there goes the neighborhood" Tori mumbled

Typing a few keys on the keyboard Cam got hold of the guys

"Sorry to tell you this but we have another emergency on our hands"

With their answers of confirmation Cam and the girls morphed

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJASTORM"

"THUNDER STORM"

"SAMURAI STORM"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"Ranger Storm Power!"

 **-Battlefield-**

Not bothering to go as separate megazords the seven rangers were already in their Hurricane Megazord by the time they reached Zurgane.

"What's the deal?" Shane demanded

"I'm back and your through" Zurgane threatened

"Fuckin' knew it" Aria grumbled

The two giant zords walked to each other they threw a punch at Zurgane only to be met with a punch thrown by Zurgane. When their fists collided sparks erupted and both were sent stumbling back. The rangers threw a kick and were faced with the same results.

Next, they used their sword to try and slash at Zurgane, sparks exploded but there was no other physical damage. All of a sudden a flying fist was, well flying, towards the rangers. They leapt up in the air and used their sword to slash down on Zurgane again. Again there was no visible damage

"I have another surprise for you" Zurgane said, Aria could almost hear a smirk in his voice (well, despite having no face)

Suddenly Zurgane's zord produced a power sphere

"No way!" Tori cried

"It's a Power Sphere!" Shane exclaimed

"What a poser" Dustin agreed

"I knew it" said Cam and Aria at the same time

"This is brutal!" Hunter shouted

Blake agreed with his brother "Totally"

"That's right," Zurgane sneered "a Power Sphere cloned from your own technology"

Cam's grip tightened on his controls

Zurgane continued, "Your move"

"You can't use our powers against us" Shane complained

"We'll just see about that"

The Power Sphere opened and released a pick-axe looking weapon. As Zurgane raised his weapon the six raised their shield; to their dismay the shield shattered when Zurgane slashed down on them.

Zurgane unleashed his final attack on the rangers and the Hurricane Megazord, one of their most powerful weapons in their arsenal, collapsed in a smoking heap. The cockpit was much worse, sparks blew up everywhere and the seven were thrown around in the megazord.

Zurgane moved his zord over the rangers

Inside they were all coughing and groaning, clutching their bodies in pain.

"Is everybody alright?" Tori asked in concern

From inside his own zord cockpit Zurgane could almost taste victory "Now for the final strike" he placed his pick-axe on the megazord's chest as if to aim his killing blow "GOODBYE RANGERS!"

He raised his pick-axe and the rangers feared for their lives. Cam quickly called the Mammothzord as cover and within seconds it appeared behind the general. It released a Power Sphere and shot it towards Zurgane.

This small distraction was all the rangers needed to regain power in the megazord and give a strong punch in the zord's middle.

Turning around and spotting the Mammothzord Zurgane muttered "Never send an elephant to do an alien's job" he turned to face the metal elephant and took it down with a single blow

"NO!" the seven cried

"He's immobilized it!" Cam called

"I can't believe it!"

Zurgane faced the rangers again as they tried to use the vortex from their previous battle with him.

"Not this time" Zurgane laughed

He used the same attack on them as he did with the Mammothzord and once again they found themselves being thrown around as sparks and smoke blurred their vision.

Soon they heard the calm voice of Sensei to come back to Ops "Use the Ninja Firebird to cloak your escape"

"On our way Sensei" Shane confirmed

 **-Ninja Ops-**

The rangers watched in horror as Zurgane trashed Blue Bay by using their own powers against their city.

"We've gotta get back out there" Hunter all but shouted

"We need more time" Aria snapped, she was getting frustrated at both herself and her team. She and Cam couldn't seem to find a way to defeat themselves essentially. The constant hovering of the others didn't help either, and on top of all this Cam's phone kept buzzing in the corner.

"How are we gonna fight him without our zords?" Tori asked

Leaping over Dustin Sensei looked at the rangers, "What other resources are at your disposal?"

As the others listed off their 'resources' Aria and Cam remained focused on making the repairs needed.

The five raced out the door leaving Cam and Sensei to deal with a very agitated Aria.

As they continued working Cam's phone ringed yet again for what seemed like the hundredth time, Aria lost it

Her eyes became black and she screamed "CAM I SWEAR TO GOD, PICK UP THE DAMNED PHONE BEFORE I COMPLETELY LOSE IT!"

"Aria!" Sensei said in a stern voice, bringing her back to reality. She grumbled an apology before continuing her work

Cam's eyes widened as he reached for his phone. His eyes grew even wider when he saw the number

He shot out of his chair and walked by the ancient scrolls

Aria could hear bits and pieces of the conversation

"Listen, I gotta go…I'm working on something…I'll see you tomorrow okay…yes I promise…okay…bye"

After this little distraction Aria and Cam continued working. Their combined efforts made progress, but not as fast as they wanted.

"We almost have it back online…almost!" Cam cried

Their hands moved faster across the console as they tried to finally finish repairs.

"Cam, Ri we're running out of options" Shane groaned through his morpher

A couple more hits on the console and-

"Done! We're on our way!" Aria cheered.

Streaking out of Ops the two caught up with the other five; the zords following behind them.

 **-Battlefield-**

All six leapt into their respective zords and combined their megazords. Cam, however, was not at the scene

"Um, aren't we missing one?" Dustin noticed

Aria smirked behind her helmet "Trust me, this'll be good"

As they expected Zurgane attacked almost as soon as they stepped to him. But before he could attack again he was blasted by Cam in his Star Chopper.

They formed the Hurricane Megazord and charged Zurgane on Shane's command. The two were locked in sword fight, each trying to dominate the other. After receiving a heavy hit from Zurgane the rangers tried to retaliate but he vanished from sight. Turning around they were met with another hard hit to the chest. Using his strongest attack against them the megazord was thrown back.

"Uh, Cam; now would be a great time for that new update…" Aria groaned

Calling on the newly repaired Mammothzord it appeared from view; although Zurgane tried trashing it like before the new updates Aria and Cam added gave it more power to withstand his attacks. The rangers mounted the Mammothzord and rushed forwards. Releasing all their Power Spheres at once to call all their weapons, everything from their Serpent Sword to the Minizord to their Sting Blaster; all of them found a place on the Mammothzord.

With one shot from each attachment resulted in the final destruction of Zurgane's zord and all seven rangers cheered.

 **-Campsite-**

Despite the multiple zord battles today the boys were still insistent on camping. They even invited Tori, Cam, and Aria out for a couple of hours, like a mini celebration for their victory. They drove out to the campsite and groggily got out the van.

"I can't believe these fools still wanted to go camping after today, I just wanna sleep" Aria groaned as she lugged her guitar out the van

"Ugh, me too" Tori agreed

"Me three, I just didn't want them to think I was...lame" Cam confessed

"Me too" Tori smiled

"Oh god guys, they don't think your lame…let's just get this over with" Aria yawned

They reached the boys' camp and stopped in their tracks. All four of them were passed out in their foldable chairs. Being the annoying little sister she was she ran back to the van to fish out the pen she brought.

When she returned she had a huge grin on her face

"Oh god Ri…" Cam groaned

Ignoring this Aria crept up to her friends and began to draw on their faces, holding back laughter as she went. Eventually Cam and Tori joined in on the fun. This fun was short lived as Cam's phone buzzed again. Having heard this almost all day Aria was seriously annoyed with the damned thing.

She plucked the small phone from his pocket to check who has been calling him all day. Her eyes widened as she recognized the number.

Cam swiped the phone back and answered, giving a quick excuse to talk later before hanging up. Now he had to face a not-to-happy Aria

"How the hell do you have Nami's number?" Aria demanded

His usual sarcastic demeanor faltered as he faced the Black Thunder Ninja, "I'm a computer geek remember?"

Aria quirked an eyebrow, "That is both stalker-ish and probably illegal"

"Well, she thinks you gave me her number" he admitted

Aria let out a sigh; she was planning on hooking up her and Cam anyway "How long?" she groaned

"Uh…two and a half months…"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" she shouted as she started to chase him down "THAT WAS JUST AFTER TOTALLY TALENTED CAMERON!"

The four guys woke up to find Aria chasing Cam and shouting things like how he didn't tell anyone or why Nanami didn't tell her or any of the girls. They all busted out laughing at the sight, not realizing that they had ink all over their faces. Tori laughed to herself at the sight, she didn't know what was funnier; Cam being chased by a girl almost a head shorter than him or the four guys oblivious to the drawings on their faces.

(A/N: So that's that, not my best I know...but now all rangers are paired! Well, except but Shane, but I only see him with Skyla so...yeah. REVIEW/FOLLOW/FAVORITE)


	31. Chapter 30

_Disclaimer: I changed some things from the original episode, also I don't own PRNS, just Aria, all OCs, and anything else ya don't recognize_

 **Chapter 30: A Gem of a Day**

 **-Ninja Ops-**

Today was a bad day for the Bradleys; it was their parents' death anniversary. They all had their own way of dealing with their grief; Blake was working on his bike, Hunter went off riding, and Aria locked herself up in her room.

She held her guitar close to her chest as a few stray, silent tears flowed down her face; it was the last thing her parents gave her.

 _-Flashback-_

 _The year was 1997 and the three Bradley kids sat on the living room couch squished in between their parents. There was a tall, tan-skinned man standing off to the side whom the three kids recognized as their family friend, Mr. Omino. He had a stoic appearance but his eyes were full of sadness, which did not go unnoticed by Aria. By keeping to herself she picked up a hobby; people watching. She knew something was going to happen, something bad_

 _Looking to their parents they realized that the two had tears welling in their eyes._

 _Looking up to her mother eleven year old Aria asked, "Mama, what's wrong?"_

 _With a quick glance to her husband she gave all three of her children a small smile "Nothing sweetheart, daddy and I are just…going away for a while…on a business trip"_

 _"_ _Another one?"_

 _"_ _When will you be back?" Hunter asked_

 _Looking down at his oldest son the Bradley patriarch said "We, uh, we don't know buddy"_

 _"_ _You are coming back though right?" Blake wondered_

 _"_ _Of course we are," their mother cooed "We always come back from our business trips don't we?"_

 _"_ _We just don't know how long this one will take" their father added_

 _"_ _Mr. Omino will be here with you ok, everything will be fine. In the meantime however, we have something for you guys"_

 _Their father stood up from the couch and left the room, seconds later he revealed three gifts for the kids. Blake got his first tool set to start fixing his bike on his own, Hunter received new racing gear, and Aria, to her surprise, was given her mother's old guitar._

 _Anyone who knew the Bradley family knew the matriarch had a talent for music. She always seemed to have a song stuck in her head and always had the radio on in the house. Silence was definitely not in the Bradleys' vocabulary._

 _It turns out that Aria shared her mother's love for music and was learning how to play guitar like her mother. She had been begging to get one herself for longest time so she was shocked to find that she was getting her mother's guitar._

 _Many hugs and a few tears later their parents walked out the door with heavy packs on their back. The three stood at their front door, Mr. Omino standing behind them, as they watched their parents look back one last time before walking away._

 _Little did they know that in a few days, Aria and her brothers would not only become ninjas, but as well as orphans once again._

 _-End Flashback-_

To help calm her down Aria thought back to the song that her mother used to sing to her and her brothers whenever they were upset, 'Over the Rainbow' from "The Wizard of Oz". She was pulled from her thoughts when a gentle knock came from her door.

"Ri?" she heard Blake call "Cam and Hunter found something we need to check out"

"I'll be right out" she sighed before she quickly pulled on her Ninja Uniform.

Drying her tears she walked out of room and headed to the main part of Ops to find the entire team crowded around the table. She made her way to Dustin and pulled his arms around her shoulders and leaned into his chest. His presence alone always seemed to make her feel better

Cam and Hunter showed them the broken piece of Zurgane's sword and explained how they came across it.

"After we found the sword I located the satellite picture of the area" Cam concluded, pulling up a video of Zurgane being blown to pieces by Vexacus.

"Its true rangers," Sensei said to them from the table top "Vexacus has destroyed Zurgane"

"Not that I gonna miss Zurgane but why would Vexacus do that?" Tori wondered aloud

"Power struggle?" Aria suggested "Lothor has what, like 5 generals?"

"It appears so" Sensei agreed

"Isn't that a good thing though?" Dustin commented "Maybe they'll just keep fighting each other until no one's left"

"Or they'll keep fighting each other until the strongest survives" Aria mentioned

"Either is possible rangers," Sensei said "or Lothor may have a more sinister plot in mind"

"So what do we do next?" Shane asked

"The time has come to face the enemy proactively. We must reinforce out ranks by rescuing all the capture ninjas. We must find a way to get onto Lothor's ship"

"Well that ain't gonna be easy" Blake sighed looking at his brother and sister "Trust us"

The two sighed in agreement

"Lothor's ship is protected by a powerful energy field" Aria warned "Without a way to break through, we'll never get in"

"Leave that to me" Hunter said before dashing out the room.

Aria and Blake stared after him, both with suspicion in their eyes before glancing at each other with worry.

 **-City-**

After Hunter all but sprinted out the door the six remaining rangers went their separate ways. Blake and Tori left together to go out, Cam stayed in Ops as per usual, Shane went to the skate park and Dustin and Aria went into the city.

Aria was meeting with Nami, Lila, and Desi for one of their mini jam sessions; this wasn't the first time one of the guys tagged along, ever since Hunter and Cam got involved with Lila and Nami they would usually come by and watch

Walking into the tiny auditorium where they first met the three other girls walked up to greet their friend. Now, when you spend about twelve years of your life numbing yourself to literally everything, you learn how to hide emotions and fake a smile.

As she walked over to her band's set up and Dustin took his seat in the audience he couldn't help but notice something off with Aria. He saw that her beautiful smile wasn't as wide and as cliché as it sounds; there was a certain dullness in her eyes.

They were in the middle of one of their songs when both Dustin and Aria's morphers went off.

"What was that?" Desi asked

"Ain't me" Lila denied as Nami shook her head no

"Uh, Dustin and I gotta go" Aria said quickly "We, uh, gotta be somewhere, must've lost track of time"

"Oh, ok then" Desi said as the three girls watched in confusion as Aria and Dustin raced out the door.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

The two got to Ops the same time as the others and found Cam typing away on the computer.

"Guys check this out" Cam said as a video of Hunter fighting a giant metal bird appeared

"Whoa check out Big Bird" Blake commented

"That's weird" Aria muttered squinting at the screen "It says that the radiation you were tracking earlier is back in that area. Isn't that where you found Zurgane's sword?"

"Yeah…" Cam muttered

"Come on, we better get out there" Tori said

The six stood in a line and morphed

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"SAMURAI STORM"

"RANGER FORM HA!"

"Ranger Storm Power!"

 **-Woods-**

In the Mobile Command Center the six rangers tracked down Hunter in a clearing in the woods. Exiting the M.C.C and riding their Tsunami Cycles (with Cam riding on the back of Shane's bike) the six raced towards Hunter who was kneeling in front of Vexacus and the Big Bird wannabe, Condortron.

Shane blasted the bird on its back and the six rushed to Hunter's aid.

"You ok?" Cam asked, jumping from Shane's bike

"Yeah" Hunter reassured before Motodrone and a horde of Kelzaks appeared even Vexacus and Condortron were taken by surprise

"This is _my_ battle" Vexacus growled

"ATTACK!" Motodrone commanded, ignoring Vexacus's comment

The Kelzaks and rangers rushed forwards and the battle began.

"Laser FIRE!" Shane cried as he fired, you guessed it, lasers from his bike. Blake and Tori double teamed Motodrone who tried firing at them from his own bike. The Blue couple flipped off their own bikes, flipped pass one another and fired the Ninja Powers at the gold robot; the combination of Water and Lightning caused him to spark and smoke.

Dustin and Aria rode up side by side on their bikes and fired lasers at a group of Kelzaks. Aria fired a stream of lightning, instantly destroying them.

Hunter and Cam were dealing with their own Kelzaks when Condortron flew over to them, swooping down to slash Cam across the chest. Hunter thought for a moment before calling on one of his favorite weapons,

"Ninja Glider Bike! Flight Mode Engage!"

Hunter flew up into the air and chased after Condortron, failing to notice Vexacus taking aim on his bike and firing at him. Now distracted Condortron smashed into him, knocking the Crimson Ranger out of the air.

Hearing the crash Blake and Aria rushed over, "HUNTER! NOOOO!" they cried before racing to their fallen brother

Aria's eyes were darkening behind her helmet at the thought of losing her brother today

Both were relieved to say the least when they saw their brother alive, in pain, but alive. Aria's slowly returned to their normal hue as Blake helped Hunter stand up

"I'm okay" he groaned, slightly leaning on Blake for support

The battle was still raging however. Both sides regrouped as Vexacus continued to bitch and complain at Motodrone

"Lucky I came when I did" the gold general mocked

"I didn't request backup!" Vexacus shouted

"We will leave you this time, but beware, I'm watching you!" Motodrone concluded before vanishing in a flash of light

"Return to the ship," Vexacus commanded Condortron "I'll finish this alone"

'Big Bird' flew up in the air as the Bradleys rejoined their friends

"Any last words?" Vexacus growled

"Yeah," Cam answered "SUPER SAMURAI MODE!"

"I'm pulling the strings now! DANCE!" Shark face laughed as he took hold of the seven rangers in glowing white tendrils. He made them all smash into each other before tossing them to the ground

"I fuckin' hate it when they do that" Aria grumbled as she grabbed her chest in pain

Cam was the first to stand up, "What do you want?"

Vexacus took hold of him again and pulled the Samurai Ranger to him, grabbing his wrists Vexacus said "Just having some fun!" as he threw him to the ground. Picking Cam up by arm again the other six finally managed to stand back up

"Give him back!" Shane demanded

"Sure!" Shark Face replied before tossing Cam aside again. "I'll take you all!"

When Vexacus drew his sword the six followed his action and called upon their Ninja Swords. They raced forward as Shane called for a Ninja Shadow Battle, a usually very useful attack. This time however Vexacus was easily able to defend their attacks and throw them aside.

Blake stood back up immediately and brought out his Navy Antlers, he wrapped it around the shark general's torso but was stopped before he could do anything. Now trapped in Vexacus's grasp Blake struggled to escape

Hunter appeared on the side, Crimson Blaster in hand, and fired. "Let him go you docile doofus!"

Blake was thrown aside and caught by Hunter

"Hey!" Aria shouted, Black Daggers cackling with electricity, "Only _I_ can push my brothers around" she expertly threw her daggers and grinned in satisfaction as they hit their mark. Her daggers flew back into her hands and she made her way over to her brothers.

As she helped them stand back up Vexacus appeared on top of a giant metal looking shark "LAND SHARK ATTACK!" he cried, throwing the three siblings aside.

Their friends rushed over, asking if they were okay.

"Where is he?" Shane wondered aloud

Vexacus appeared out of nowhere in front of them "You didn't think I'd leave without saying goodbye!" he cackled "Even without the gem I will defeat you" Vexacus declared, pointing at Hunter before taking off

The rangers opened their visors to look back at Hunter, "What gem? What was he talking about Hunter?" Tori asked

Hunter looked down at the ground and silently cursed

 **-Ninja Ops-**

"The Gem of Souls" Hunter admitted, showing his team the tightly wrapped Gem fragments.

"But I threw it into the ocean" Cam reminded

Untying the brown cloth Hunter revealed two chunks of the green Gem. "Not all of them"

Cam, Shane, Tori, and Dustin's eyes widened in shock while Aria and Blake's narrowed.

"You should've told us Hunter" Blake snapped

"You didn't know about this?" Tori asked in surprise, those three told each other _everything._

"No," Aria replied, slightly shaking; she was trying to keep herself in check "And we're gonna have a long talk why aren't we?"

"I was gonna tell you guys, but the more time passed the harder it got. I'm sorry" Hunter apologized

Aria was still pissed though and she didn't want to deal with any of this, especially not today

"Those fragments must've been the radiation I was track today" Cam realized "it had nothing to do with Zurgane's sword"

"After Ri shattered the Gem, I hid these two pieces out there; I'd go out there every now and again to find out if it could help me contact my parents"

And this was when Aria started to lose it, "Really Hunter? You try to contact _our_ parents and you don't tell us? Are you kidding?! We're all hurting ok, not just you! I get why you wanted to see them, especially today, but there's no going back okay! THEY'RE GONE!" the Black Ranger now had tears coming down her face and her eyes were turning black again

Sensei's calm voice brought her back to reality, "Aria is right Hunter, unfortunately what's done is done. You can never go back in time"

"Not without a scroll or something…"Dustin said quietly with a hopeful smile

"I know my parents are gone, but I still miss them and the students up on Lothor's ship, someone misses them too. It's not too late for them, let's bring them back" Hunter said before passing the Gem fragments to Cam

As Cam began working on his plans the Bradleys sat together, leaning on each other with sullen looks on their faces. Yes Blake and Aria were a bit hurt that Hunter kept this from them, but right now, they needed each other.

They didn't speak, just sat by one another and waited for Cam, thinking back to their childhood. They would usually do this at their parents' graves back at the Academy but they had a job to do, they couldn't put their own desires over their work.

Soon the three split up, going to their significant others; Hunter called Lila, Blake had Tori in his arms, and Aria had her face buried in Dustin's neck as he held her in a warm embrace.

"Hey, uh, you okay?" he asked

"Yeah…" she lied

"Ri –"

"I don't wanna talk about it"

Before Dustin could answer back Cam suddenly shouted out, signaling that he was done working. He morphed and took off his helmet as the the remaining six stood before him.

"With the Gem shards, I should have enough power to break through Lothor's energy fields; once I've done that, you guys should be able to teleport onto Lothor's ship"

"We'll be standing by" Shane reassured in his 'leader' voice

"Be careful Cam" Aria said quietly

"Why does everybody keep telling me that?" he joked before walking into the Zord Bay.

"Good Luck" Tori added as Cam's figure disappeared inside

Aria sat at the Super Computer and pulled the video feed of Cam in the new Dragon Force Vehicle

"Whoa that is awesome!" Dustin laughed as he put his hands on Aria's shoulders

The six rangers laughed and smiled at the thought of finally freeing the captured Ninjas.

Those smiles turned to looks of panic and worry as Cam was hit by Lothor's defense mechanisms.

"Cam! Cam come in!" Shane called

"I'm hit but I'm okay" the Green Ranger stated "My big problem is, if I don't get any closer, I won't be able to break through the energy field."

Suddenly a video feed of Condortron appeared on screen

"Oh great, Big Bird is back" Blake grumbled

"We gotta call the zords" Shane said

"We can't leave Cam out there" Hunter reminded

"Cyber Cam and I will watch over my son," Sensei said "You must take the zords and fight Condortron"

With one last looks at Cam zooming around Lothor's ship the six rangers morphed and formed their megazords.

 **-Battlefield-**

The battle started as soon as they arrived, the two teams fired and Condortron without hesitation. The bird returned the favor by slashing them both across the chest plates of their zords. Flying back a few feet Condortron fired at the rangers, causing the cockpits to spark up.

The bird dove for the Winds but was caught by the combined efforts of the six rangers. With their own words of encouragement the six of them threw Condortron aside.

As soon as 'Big Bird' stood up, Cam was there in his Samurai Star Megazord to knock him back. The three megazords stood together to form the Hurricane Megazord on Cam's command.

With the power of all seven rangers combined, they were able to destroy Condortron in one blow.

 **-Thunder Academy-**

Upon returning, the Bradleys went back to their old school after picking up Aria's guitar. They walked through the destroyed grounds before reaching the Academy's cemetery. Walking through the rows of tombstones they reached their parents' graves. A large marble slab with the Thunder Academy insignia inscribed, as well as the message

 _Here lies_

 _Lisa and Jeriah Bradley_

 _1958-1997, 1957-1997_

 _May They Rest In Peace_

The three of them bowed in respect before sitting in front of the grave stone. They told their parents about their battle today and life in general, how all of them had found someone, how Aria had a band, and what not. When they were done there were a few beats of silence before Aria pulled her guitar out and began playing her mother's song

 _Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high  
There's a land that I heard of, once in a lullaby  
Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue  
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true_

Tears started flowing and her brothers had tears forming at the memory of their mother singing

 _Someday I'll wish upon a star and  
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me  
Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away  
above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me_

 _Somewhere, over the rainbow, bluebirds fly  
birds fly over the rainbow why then oh why can't I?_

Now the two boys had tears flowing as well

 _If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow  
Why, why can't I?_

When the song had finished the three of them stared at the tombstone before looking into the sky.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

After visiting her parents Aria went to the shop, knowing that Dustin was working today. Walking through the door she was almost immediately greeted by Dustin

"Hey what are you doing here?" he laughed as he wrapped her in a hug

She didn't respond right away, just stayed in his arms for a few more seconds

"Hey, are you okay?"

With a sigh she led him to the sitting are at pulled her into the seat next to her, "It's just been a hard day for my brothers and I"

"You wanna tell me what today is?" he asked confused, I mean they had a hard battle but still…

She sighed even deeper "It's my parents' death anniversary"

He looked at her in shock "I'm sorry, I didn't know I-"

"You wouldn't have known" Aria said as she leaned her head on his shoulder

"You wanna talk about it?"

She shook her head no as she leaned further into his chest as his arms wrapped around her "I already talked to them, for now, just sit here and be with me"

Dustin smiled as he leaned into the couch, not caring that he technically was on the clock still, Aria needed him"Always…"

A/N: Awwwww, if you couldn't tell I LOVE HP. Anyway, sorry for not posting last week, I was crazy busy. Hope you enjoyed it! REVIEW AND FOLLOW PLEASE!


	32. Chapter 31

_Disclaimer: Aria plus all OCs are mine, PRNS isn't...duh)_

 **Chapter 31: Down and Dirty**

 **-Motocross Track-**

"Welcome to the Blue Bay Harbor Motocross and the last qualifier before the Nationals next month." The announcer of the race greeted "The top four riders this season will qualify for the big show, so there's a lot at stake here folks"

Aria and her brothers walked along side Kelly as they prepped for the upcoming race. They had their eyes set on those top four spots and competitive sides were coming out.

Aria looked around for Dustin but couldn't spot him anywhere

"You put in a new air filter right?" Kelly asked Blake for what felt like the hundredth time already

"Yeah" he replied simply

"Did you seal so you wouldn't get any dirt in your air box?" Hunter questioned

Rolling his eyes Blake said "Bro I'm not an idiot"

"Hey has anyone seen Dustin?" Kelly wondered

"Been wondering the same thing" Aria agreed

Looking around none of them could spot the yellow clad racer.

Reaching the starting line the three mounted their bikes that were conveniently placed right next to each other.

"Crazy huh?" Aria said as she came to a realization

"What's that?" Blake asked

"Well even if one of us wins, it's not like we can bail and go to the country side racing" putting her helmet on with a smirk she continued "Also, just imagine all these fools' faces when they find out a girl beat them"

"Don't get to disappointed" Hunter taunted

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not here to podium, I want first"

"We may be going in as a team," Blake added "But we're still racing"

'No problems here' Aria thought to herself

All three let out a laugh and high fived before they revved their engines.

The gates dropped and the three took off, leaving a cloud of dust behind them.

Hunter easily pulled ahead, closely followed by Blake who had Aria hot on his tail

"And they're off!" the announcer commented "And it looks like a clean start out of the gate as Hunter Bradley takes an early lead on the inside track"

All three pulled ahead of the other racers and they were now neck in neck.

"Now it's Hunter, Blake, and Aria Bradley and they are deadly! You wouldn't know those guys were brothers and sister!"

Aria and Blake pushed forward, eager to pull past their big brother when Blake forces Hunter to the side.

'Oh Shit…' she thought as she continued forward

She and Blake were riding side by side with Hunter trailing behind him. In the last few jumps Blake had managed to pull ahead. At the very last minute she went full throttle and crossed the finish line at the same time as Blake, closely followed by Hunter

"And Blake and Aria Bradley take the win! That was a close race folks!"

Blake rolled his bike up to Kelly and her van with a broad smile on his face. Aria followed with a look of dread, Hunter was not gonna be happy.

And her prediction was right, as Hunter stormed over to the middle Bradley. Throwing his helmet to the ground Aria sat on her bike and watched Hunter and Blake face off.

"You're gonna scratch your helmet" Aria mumbled under her breath

Not having heard her Hunter started his rant, "What was that? You totally high-sided me!"

Blake waved it off and walked over to his toolbox "No I didn't, you came onto me"

"That's ridiculous!"

"Besides, you wanted to race? I was racing!"

"Do you realize I don't make Nationals?!"

Aria let out a sigh, "Uh, neither can we…"

Again ignoring her Blake shot back, "So what?!"

Hunter stormed off with a growl, pissing Blake off more. He turned to call out his brother, "Hey! You know what I think?"

"Should I call T and Lila?" Aria suggested, only to be ignored…again

"I think you're just mad you got beat by your little brother" Blake taunted "And sister" he added as an afterthought. "If it were any of these other guys it would've been a clean pass! But because it was me-"

"She raced fairly, unlike you" Hunter spat before he stalked off kicking a couple of lawn chairs in the process

Kelly went to check up on Blake while Aria called up Lila, this argument was gonna last awhile…

 **-Later-**

After calling Lila she came by and picked up the fuming racer and the remaining Bradleys watched the freestyle demo that was taking place. They cheered the riders on as Kelly came up to Blake

"Hey, where's Hunter?" the red head asked

"He got a ride" Blake grumbled

Aria rolled her eyes at the thought of that argument; Blake did have a point, even the commentator said it was a clean pass.

"I see" Kelly stated deciding to drop the subject.

Aria returned her focus on the demo when something, or someone, caught her eye. Dustin was apparently next for the demo. 'Well that explains where he disappeared to' she thought. Aria cheered even louder, causing Blake and Kelly to look over.

Dustin took off, heading up the ramp and launching himself off. He pushed his legs between his arms, only his hands on the handle bars kept him on the bike. Aria beamed with pride at the sight of him in the air. Landing on the ramp on the opposite side it seemed to be a perfect landing, but he soon lost control and was thrown off his bike.

Aria's smile turned into a look of horror when he was thrown off the bike. Two of the race's workers came up and helped him up as Aria hopped over the barrier and rushed over, closely followed by Blake and Kelly.

"Dustin!" she called

He shakily stood up and thanked them for their help.

"You okay?" Aria asked as she wrapped an arm around his waist

"Yeah I'm fine" he laughed lightly

"Since when did you start freestyle demo?" Kelly questioned

"Uh yeah man, I thought you didn't want to get hurt for racing" Blake added

"Yo dude, you're not helping" Dustin laughed, still massaging his hurt arm

Blake laughed and declared that he would be waiting in the van

When he was gone Kelly turned to face him "So what's up?"

"I just miss free-styling, you know? I've been so busy racing I haven't had time to hit the ramps" he explained, wrapping an arm around Aria's shoulders

Kelly scoffed before turning to walk away

"Uh, what was that?" Aria asked with a small laugh

"You have a promising racing career Dustin, you really wanna risk that?" Kelly continued

Aria had to admit that she had a point, Dustin's lap times have only gotten faster the past year and he was so close to moving to up to 250s.

"I don't know…why can't I do both?" Dustin thought

"You're a great racer Dustin, but you're not Travis Pastrana"

Kelly continued to the van while Dustin stopped and stared after her.

Aria reached up and made him face her, "Hey, you are an amazing racer and with practice I know you can become an amazing free-styler."

"But maybe Kels has a point, maybe-"

"Maybe she is, just do what you want to do"

Dustin smiled at the girl before him then pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking over to the van.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Hunter and Blake still couldn't stand to be within 15 feet of each other…their fight was like three days ago. Aria was literally being torn in half; she was rushing from one side of the shop to the other trying to see both sides of the argument. Blake was talking to Tori and Hunter was talking to Shane and Lila.

"What was he thinking?" Blake vented to Tori in the lounge

"He stuffed me!" Hunter snapped at Shane and Lila in the back "He totally blocked me to the burn!"

Tori, who looked bored out of her mind, said "You don't really expect me to take sides do you?"

"Yeah, cause I'm choosing between you two cause that would be lame" Shane told Hunter

"Tori, just admit he shouldn't have stepped to me like that" Blake begged

Lila spoke, rubbing his back in sympathy, "He probably didn't mean to do that"

Hunter had none of that however, "All I know is that there's clean racing and dirty racing, and that was definitely dirty"

Stubbornness was definitely a trait the three of them picked up from their parents as neither of them wanted to apologize unless the other did.

Hunter stormed out the store through the front while Blake used the back exit. Lila rolled her eyes and followed the brooding blond.

Aria, Shane, and Tori met in the middle of the shop, "Why don't we just lock 'em in Ops?" Aria suggested

Shane and Tori were actually considering it when Dustin walked by, with a small forced smile

"Hey you okay?" Tori asked

"Yeah, I just got a lot on my plate right now" he answered

As soon as the words left his mouth Shane's morpher beeped, the four crowded around his wrist as Cam called them to rush to Ops.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

The four of them raced into Ops and found Cam kneeling at the low table typing away at his laptop. Hunter and Blake were actually in the same room, even if they couldn't even look at each other.

"Hey what's going on?" Shane asked

"Look at this, or more importantly, listen" Cam said, pulling up a video feed of a menacing purple zord taunting them to come out a fight. The voice coming from the zord sounded annoyingly familiar

"Is that Kapri?" Aria questioned in surprise

"You are correct Aria" Sensei confirmed, flipping on top of the table "There is no time to waste you must intersect her right away before she can do any damage."

"I'll initiate the zord sequence from here, then join you" Cam informed

"Before you go Blake, Hunter, remember, whatever differences you have right now you must put them aside when preforming your ranger duties" Sensei reminded

"I will if he does" Blake mumbled

"Here we go again…" Aria complained, this feud was seriously getting to her now

"Don't worry about me dude" Hunter growled

With one last glare they were finally able to morph

(A/N: If you don't know it by know…smh)

 **-Battlefield-**

Now already in their megazords the six of them faced off Kapri.

"There they are; all my least favorite colours" Kapri grumbled

"Look down idiot, your suit is black" Aria smirked behind her helmet

Kapri charged forward and was actually a surprisingly formidable opponent. She blasted the Storm Megazord when the Thunder Megazord snuck behind her.

Dustin called the Lion Blaster and prepared to fire at Kapri, at the last second she rolled out of the way, making the Thunders take the hit.

Their megazord fell to the ground as their individual cockpits started sparking.

"Hey why didn't you duck?" Hunter shouted at Blake

"Me? You're the one in charge of the lateral controls!" Blake countered

Aria's grip tightened on her controls and her eyes darkened behind her visor "You both shut up or so help me god!"

Suddenly, Sensei's voice came from the com-link "Excuse me, but what did we just discuss"

The two boys apologized and continued the battle; Aria shook the feeling off and kept fighting.

The Thunder Megazord was currently offline and wouldn't budge so Aria and her brothers watched helplessly as the Winds tried to fight off Kapri.

They decided to go to Lightning Mode which seemed to have helped. They managed to throw Kapri's zord to the ground. The Winds went for the final blow when a blast of pink hit them in the chest. As the smoke cleared two new zords appeared. One of them looked like a giant pink Beevil which did not sit well with Aria

In the bulkier zord Shimazu was manning the controls and in the Beevil replica was Marah. 'Oh joy…' Aria thought.

All three zords landed heavy hits on the Winds, throwing them over to the Thunders. At that moment the Thunder Megazord finally came back online, as well as Cam's long awaited arrival. To their surprise there were actually three Cams, yes three.

"Fight fire with fire right?" Cam said as three Samurai Star Megazords appeared before them. "They're drones; use them to combine with your megazords"

So they did just that.

"That bitch is mine!" Aria growled; to say she had some resentment towards Marah was an understatement.

The Winds fought Shimazu, Cam fought Kapri, and the Thunders went against Marah.

The two sides fought fiercely, each trying to gain the upper hand and for a while it seemed like the rangers would win this one. Both Marah and Shimazu fell in heaps of smoking metal.

But something wasn't right, the Thunder and Storm Megazords started to freeze up.

"Hey, you guys feeling this?" Dustin asked

"Yeah, the hell is it?" Aria added

Cam and Kapri were still locked in a duel. Suddenly Tori came in flying in her Dolphinzord and attacked. Tori then rejoined the Winds, allowing their systems to come back online. Cam's droid removed itself from the Thunders, allowing them to come back online too.

"Come on fools! Let's show her what a real zord is!" Tori exclaimed

"Amen sister!" Aria agreed

They quickly formed the Hurricane Megazord and Tori, who somehow got the Lightning Riff Blaster from Cam, handed it to Aria "Hit it Ri!"

Aria expertly played the Riff Blaster and summoned the mighty Mammothzord. Hopping onto its back the rangers opened all their Power Spheres. They attached themselves to the Mammothzord and fired simultaneously at the space ninja, blowing her zord up into pieces.

The six of them celebrated yet another win.

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Aria had received a call later that day from Dustin telling him to meet him at Storm Chargers. She walked into the shop and found Kelly standing by the register

"Hey Kels, you seen Dustin?"

As if on cue Dustin walked in "Hey Kels, Ri! Can I talk to guys"

He took a deep breath and began, "I made a decision"

"Decision about what?" Kelly questioned

Aria however knew exactly what he was talking about. She smiled at him and waited for his answer.

"I'm giving up racing" he admitted

Kelly started protesting against this decision until Aria spoke up, "Kels, why don't we let him explain huh?"

"Look I really like racing-"

"The why would you give it up?" Kelly interrupted

"Because I love free-styling! It's what I wanna do and um, I don't wanna let you down and-"

"Look," Kelly smiled "Storm Chargers is about action sports, and free-style motocross is an action sport; so if that's what you wanna do, I'm behind you one hundred percent, and so is the shop"

Dustin's smile grew even bigger as he hugged his friend/boss. When she left to go back to work it was Aria' turn to hug him.

When they broke apart Aria smiled at him again, "This is what you wanna do?"

"Yes, this is what I wanna do. This really pretty racer from the demo told me to do what I wanted to do"

Aria laughed and pulled him closer "Well, she sounds pretty chill"

Dustin laughed and gave her a kiss. Aria reluctantly pulled away when she remembered her plans with her brothers.

"I'll be back in a couple of hours m'kay?"

After they said goodbye Aria walked out the shop

 **-Motocross Track-**

After the zord battle Aria had it up to here with her brothers' feud, so they came up with a way to settle this once and for all. Five laps around the same track they used for the qualifications for Nationals.

This was between the boys as Hunter still thought Blake wouldn't have beaten him if he hadn't passed him.

Annoyed, Aria stated the rules of the race, "Alright, five laps, let's get this shit over with"

She moved to the side of the track and pulled a small white towel out, she waved it a couple of times before dropping it to the ground, signaling them to take off.

As per usual they were neck in neck the entire race, Aria kept an eye on them to make sure there was no foul play. What caught her interest was that on the last lap Blake went high on a turn; similar to how Hunter ended up during qualifications. Even then they were still riding side by side. On the last stretch of the last lap Blake crossed the finish line first.

The boys pulled over to the side and complimented each other as Aria made her way over to them.

"You were right," Hunter admitted

"Bout what?" Blake asked

"What you said earlier, you beat me fair and square. It's hard to admit your little bro AND sis does something better than you do"

"Listen man, we may have beaten you, tomorrow you could beat us, but we're always gonna be family. Just gotta remember that" Aria said

The boys got off their bikes and started pushing them towards Blake's pick up when Aria stopped in her tracks.

Something didn't feel right; it was as if something was drawing her in, pushing her 'other half' out. She closed her eyes and shook her head a couple times waiting for it to pass.

"Ri, you okay?" Hunter questioned

Aria stared at ground, she could still feel a pull "I-I don't know…" the pull suddenly vanished, as quickly as it came "Whoa that was weird"

"What's up?" Blake asked

"I'm not sure…but I think something bad is gonna happen…something very bad"

 **To Be Continued…**

(A/N: Ooooooooo, suspense! Sorry this might be late for some of you, i had so much hw today. Anyway i hope you like it and I will be starting Aria's sequel soon so STAY TUNED! R&R pwease!)


	33. Chapter 32

_(Disclaimer: PRNS isn't mine, Aria and all OCs are mine)_

 **Chapter 32: Storm Before the Calm part I**

 **-Storm Chargers-**

Aria and the rest of her band were huddled together outside of Storm Chargers with Aria's phone in the center of all of them. They were speaking to one of the reps for the U.S Action Games that were a few days away.

The four of them were supposed to meet with the others today to have a nice day off. When they got there Kelly rushed over to Aria and told her the good news; Dustin and Shane would actually be competing, Dustin was finally able to do freestyle in a real competition and at the freakin' Action Games too.

Not a minute after hearing this good news Aria's phone rang and upon answering she pushed the other three girls outside to speak to the rep, we all know what they were calling about.

None of them even realized that Shane had walked pass them, followed by Dustin a few minutes later grumbling about oil or something, and then Tori soon after him. When they finally hung up Blake and Hunter were making their way to the door. The girls made their presence known by screaming for excitement and jumping around like a bunch of middle schoolers.

Walking over Hunter slung an arm around Lila and asked "What are we screaming about?"

Lila smirked and held the hand that was wrapped around her, "You'll see"

The six of them walked in when Dustin rushed over with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey guys! Guess what!" he said excitedly

"Yeah we know; U.S Action Games right?" Blake said while making his way over to Shane and Tori in the sitting area, apparently Kelly told them earlier as well

"That's awesome man" Hunter congratulated following his brother.

Lila, Nanami, and Desi all congratulated him as well before meeting with the others.

Aria kissed his cheek "I'm so proud of you" she said before joining their friends

"So let me get this straight," Dustin smiled following Aria "Everybody knew except for me? Is that about right?"

"Yeah, sounds right" Aria laughed taking her corner spot on the couch, Dustin sitting on the small table in front of them

She was so happy that both her band mates and teammates became good friends but she still felt bad for running off in the middle of practices, also for dragging Hunter and Cam from Lila and Nami. It wouldn't even be for an alien attack or whatever; sometimes it would just be to keep up with Sensei's insane training schedule or to help Cam with repairs to zords and whatever.

The thought of Cam drew Aria's eyes to Nami who was sitting on the floor by Desi. Of course Cam made time for Nami but there so many times where they would all be paired off and Nanami was alone. He was such a workaholic and even though Nami understood, she still wished they spent more time together

She wasn't too worried about Shane and Desi though in that sense however. Desi has made it clear many times that she wasn't the relationship type and Shane, well; Skyla was the only one for him.

Looking over at Lila who was sitting along the back of the couch, arms wrapped around Hunter who sat in front on her, she was both grossed out and happy for the two. Grossed out because Lila was her best friend and Hunter was her brother and they were very touch-y feel-y but happy because how well they complement each other.

Suddenly her thoughts derailed from her friends to that pull she had felt after her brothers made up after their fight. She had asked Sensei what was wrong with her that night but he simply stated that she would find out in the near future. Typical Sensei answer…

She shook her head to get the thought out of her head and focused her attention on her friends.

"Hey, didn't you test today with Roger Hannah for Factory Blue?" Aria remembered. She was so proud of her brother, Blake has always been the best racer out of the three; she'd never admit it out loud though

"That's right! How'd it go?" Tori asked with a big smile

"There was a photographer there from Dirt Works Magazine, said he hasn't seen anyone test that fast since McGrath in '91!" Hunter said proudly

The group erupted into even more shouts of congratulations.

"So what's the deal?" Dustin question in excitement

"Well full Factory ride if I want it!"

"Why wouldn't you want it?" Lila wondered

The smile on Blake's face dropped as he glanced at the other five rangers around him, "I'm uh, a little busy around here"

Realization hit the five, Blake had this amazing opportunity standing right in front of him, the only thing stopping him was a navy spandex suit.

"You'd be an idiot to pass this up dude" Lila said, always one to tell it how it is

Hunter glanced at his brother, "That's what I told him"

After a few beats of silence Desi spoke up, "Ok, our turn"

"What's up?" Shane asked

"So, we got a call today" Lila continued "Just a few minutes ago actually"

"From who?" Hunter questioned

"Oh ya know, just some reps for the Action Games" Nami answered casually

"Wait what?" Tori laughed

"Apparently they saw us on Totally Talented and want us to preform" Aria grinned

More congratulations were passed before continuing their conversation. Eventually only the rangers remained; Lila had work, Nami had dance, and Desi had soccer practice.

The ninjas all moved to back of the shop where Dustin was tuning up his bike. Aria sat on the counter top when a thought came to her head, "Um, did anyone tell Sensei that we're going to the Action Games?"

The others glanced around at each other, the Games were gonna take a lot out of their training schedules, and that was just practices and rehersals. The day of competition was an entire day of training gone.

"And what about Cam, did anyone ask if he wanted to go with us?" Dustin added

 **-Ninja Ops-**

They dropped what they were working on and practically streaked out of Storm Chargers to Ops. They quickly explained their story to Sensei and Cam and waited for an answer.

"So it slipped all of your minds? I mean Dustin I can believe" Cam joked

Aria grinned a little, ever since he started seeing Nami more, Cam has been much more relaxed than when she first met him

"Hey I'm the one who remembered!" Dustin defended himself

"It's true he was" Aria added with a little nudge to the Earth Ninja. "Besides, I'm sure Nami already told you"

Cam smirked a little in confirmation

"I can understand how this could've happened" Sensei assured "It is a great honor to participate in such an event. I can only imagine the excitement can be quite a distraction."

"So is it alright if we go?" Tori asked quietly

"Yes of course"

The six of them cheered, today just kept getting better and better. She was so glad that Black Magic continued practicing Aria's songs, they only have a few days until the Games and they needed to put together a set list.

 **-A Few Days Later-**

 **-U.S Action Games-**

Pulling up in the Storm Chargers van the seven rangers spilled out laughing and cheering. Desi, Nami, and Lila were standing by the entrance waiting for them.

Black Magic was already in their costumes; keeping with the whole black and purple theme.

Aria had ripped fishnets, a deep purple skirt, black tank top, and converse, her wild hair in a high ponytail. Nami had a black and purple dress and black combat boots, her hair was half up half down. Lila wore purple tights, dock martins, and an oversized t-shirt that looked a lot like Hunter's, Aria didn't want to know how she got it. Lila let her straight hair fall naturally. And finally Desi had black skinny jeans, a purple crop top, black leather vest, and Nikes.

The three walked over to the six ninjas and greeted them. Aria looked around in awe; there were people on roller blades, skateboards, BMX bikes, and everything in between.

"You guys better check in, I'll make sure your stuff is set up" Kelly warned "Ri! Your guitar's in the back"

Aria said her thanks, grabbed her stuff, and started making her way with the others to the check-in.

"We'll check this place out for-" Hunter began

"Chicks?" Tori teased lightly

"Haha, very funny"

"We'll find a place to sit" Cam finished

"We gotta go set up, we'll see you soon" Nami said pressing a kiss on Cam's cheek

They went their separate ways; there was a small a small stage set up near some of the freestyle ramps. After receiving special passes from the check in Black Magic headed to the stage to set up; plugging everything into the amps, tuning their instruments, etc. Suddenly, a scream erupted near them.

Aria's head snapped up and she found Marah, Kapri, and a group of Kelzaks. Not thinking twice she dropped her guitar and started rushing off the stage.

"Ri, where are you going?" Lila asked, they were already dropping their own instruments to run the other way

"Can't explain, gotta go!"

"What?" Desi questioned

Aria ignored her and ran towards the space ninjas, she looked back quickly and found that the others had run away

'Good' she thought. When she reached the ramp she was met by Cam and Hunter.

"Hey, you lost?" Cam sneered

"Do we look lost?" Marah snapped

Aria smirked, "Nope, just trashy as usual"

"Ugh, you're a pain" Kapri grumbled as she pulled out the P.A.M "Kelzak Furies"

"Fuck, my hair is perfect too"

"I think we might need a few extra hands" Cam stated

They weren't given that option as the Kelzaks attacked. Aria couldn't pay attention to Cam and Hunter as she was soon surrounded by Kelzaks. One of them actually had the gall to pull her hair.

"OH FUCK NO!"

Maybe if she weren't in the middle of battle she would've felt that strange pull from the previous week but she was, so it went right over her head.

Because she wasn't fighting the pull, it slowly took over. For the first time in months Aria's hands were engulfed in the strange black energy and her eyes were no longer their natural hue.

The sound of three unfamiliar battle cries gained Aria's attention, as well as the boys, and caused her to break out of the daze she was in. looking over she found three strangers trying to fight off the Kelzaks.

She didn't know if she should've been annoyed and impressed by them. That would have to wait as she had her own battle to fight.

"You gotta get outta here!" Cam yelled at the strangers

"Dude we're tryna help!" a tall boy with dark shaggy brown hair answered

Hunter was clearly annoyed by that, "You can help by staying outta this! And keeping out of our way"

Aria knocked a Fury to the ground before expertly flipping over another one; this was seriously getting frustrating considering she couldn't use her lightning in front of these guys.

"Seriously, go…now!" she yelled as another Fury fell

As if one cue all the Kelzaks disappeared

"What the hell?"

"Where'd they go?"

"Kyle you okay?" Aria heard the shaggy haired kid ask his dark skinned friend who was lying on the ground. He and a skinny blonde girl helped him up as Hunter, Cam, and Aria made their way over to them

"The hell were you guys thinking?" Hunter demanded

"We were thinking you were in trouble, you should be happy we were there" the dark skinned boy, Kyle answered back arrogantly

"No, you should be happy they decided to de-materialize" Cam said calmly

"You have no idea what you're dealing with" Aria finished, crossing her arms

"I'm done" Kyle grumbled

"Me too" the girl agreed

"Later dudes" the other kid said

After they left Cam called the others and led them to a wide field, apparently he saw Marah and Kapri standing here for most of the fight, staring at the ground

"I don't see anything" Dustin finally said

"What's wrong with your amulet?" Shane asked out of the blue.

Looking down Cam, as well as the others, noticed that it was frozen.

"It's frozen" Cam said in disbelief

"Frozen? Dude its like 80 degrees out" Dustin laughed lightly

"No kidding, I better get back to Ninja Ops and do some testing on it there, see what this is all about"

"Nami's not gonna like that" Shane joked

Cam scoffed "Yeah I know…"

The rangers turned to leave the site but Aria just stood there staring into the ground. The pull was there again, only stronger, much stronger. She didn't even notice that she was moving forward until Dustin gently grabbed her shoulder, "Ri, you coming?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry totally spaced just now"

She wasn't totally lying per say she just wasn't telling the whole truth. Returning to the stage Black Magic had finished setting their stuff up so they split up and agreed to meet again during show time. Desi went off to lord knows where, Nami went to grab food, and Lila and Aria joined the others to watch the roller bladers.

When Shane's morpher beeped he turned away to answer before facing his team. He nodded at them signaling that they had to go to work. They raced past Lila and Kelly

"Um where are you going?" Lila asked, slowly getting annoyed at the fact that this was the second time she was being ditched today

"Um, bathroom?" Dustin offered

"All of you?" Kelly questioned

"See ya later guys!" Aria waved, pushing the others ahead.

Shane quickly informed them that Vexacus was back and about thirty stories taller, they reached a deserted alley and morphed

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"NINJA STORM"

"THUNDERSTORM"

"RANGER FORM HA!"

"Ninja Ranger Power!"

All six zords were called and the Thunderstorm Megazord was formed in a matter of seconds. Vexacus blasted at the rangers but they pushed forward, when they were within his reach fish face slashed them three times, knocking the megazord to the ground. Bouncing back up Shane called to use the Lion Blaster; the blasts distracted him long enough for Shane to tell Aria to use the Lightning Riff Blaster

"Hit it Ri!"

"Strumming his pain with my fingers!" she laughed as she called the mighty Mammothzord. The megazord leapt onto its back and fired, it seemed as though they had had won but Vexacus leapt up into the air

"Land Shark Attack!"

His attack caused the megazord to not just break off the Mammothzord, but from each other as well. All their eyes widened in horror when they realized that the Mammothzord was gone…like… _gone_

"Victory is MINE!" Vexacus cheered

"I don't think so" Aria yelled

"It's Thunder Time!" Blake added

"Power Disk Locked and Dropped" The three of them said together

Serpent Sword in hand, the Thunders rushed forwards past the Winds, slashing Vexacus across the chest once before flipping over and holding the ex-bounty hunter back. They raised their sword for the final blow but was beat by Vexacus

"Good bye Thunder Rangers!"

Reaching back with his own sword Lothor's last general slashed the Thunders.

Inside it was sparking and smoking like crazy they had no choice

"Guys! We gotta move!" Aria yelled through the megazord's com links.

"Right behind you" Blake assured

"EJECT!" Hunter yelled.

The younger two followed their brother's command, the last thing they heard were Tori, Dustin, and Shane screaming for their friends.

The three siblings landed on the ground with a thud, groaning they opened visors and saw that they landed a few miles away from their crashed megazord.

"Fuck that hurt" Hunter cursed as he stood up, helping Blake and Aria up in the progress

"Yeah no kidding, I feel like I just got steamrolled" Blake agreed

Aria didn't say anything; instead she just collapsed to her hands and knees again. The weird pull was back and stronger than ever and there was a strange noise this time, like people groaning in misery, pain, and desperation; her eyes were already pitch black. She needed to get out of here

"Whoa whoa Ri, calm down" Hunter warned

"Ugh something's calling me" she groaned, putting her hands over her ears, tears welling in her eyes "Ugh, make it stop"

"We gotta get her outta here" Blake panicked

"Come on, she needs to go to Ops, the farther away from here the better" Hunter agreed

The two boys helped Aria up, letting her lean on them, and streaked to Ops.

 **To Be Continued…**

(A/N: So...that happened, it's a bit short but this story is mainly from the Thunders POV so...yeah. Hope you liked it! Review/Follow please!)


	34. Chapter 33

_(Disclaimer: Only Aria and OCs + nothing you recognize is mine...not PRNS)_

 **Chapter 33: Storm Before the Calm part 2**

 **-Woods-**

A stumbling Aria was being guided by her brothers as the sped through the woods. The voices were gone but she still couldn't shake off that feeling she had in her chest.

"Come on, Ri" Blake urged

He and his brother were still confused as to the sudden change in Aria, she had been doing so well at keeping her powers at bay this past year and nothing had triggered her outburst until after they lost their megazords.

All three breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the waterfall that disguised Ninja Ops.

 **-Ninja Ops-**

The three of them walked into Ops to find it completely destroyed, the Winds were already there but Cam and Sensei were nowhere to be found

Aria stepped away from her brothers and looked around in shock

"What happened here?" Hunter questioned

The Winds turned around with smiles blooming on their faces.

"You made it!" Dustin exclaimed, rushing over to Aria, "We thought you'd be toast for sure"

"Ye have little faith" Aria said weakly

"Vexacus torched the Thunder Megazord, so we ejected" Blake explained, wrapping an arm around Tori

"Where's Cam?" Hunter asked

Their smiles fell when Shane said "Don't know…"

"Sensei?"

"Lothor got here before we did" Dustin clarified, pulling Aria closer to him

"We're too late…"

From behind them a familiar voice spoke "Better late than never I always say"

"SENSEI!" they all exclaimed, before them stood their mentor in his true human form. The Winds ran up to him while the Thunders stood back a little. This was technically the first time they were _truly_ meeting the Wind Academy Sensei.

"It's good to see you finally" Aria smiled

"And you're like, uh, totally normal" Dustin added

"Lothor's energy blast reversed the transmutation and allowed me to return to my human form" Sensei explained

"But where's Cam?" Tori wondered, the green ranger was still nowhere to be found

Sensei's expression grew dark as he stared at the ground "He has been captured"

"We'll get him back Sensei"

"It will not be easy Tori" Sensei glanced up to Aria who was staring at the ground as if in deep thought and fiddling with her silver necklace "My darkest fears have come to pass; Lothor is preparing to open the Abyss of Evil"

At the name of the Abyss Aria's head shot up and she felt a tug in her chest

"Are you serious?" Blake said in disbelief "But I thought that was just Ninja Folklore"

Sensei shook his head "It is no coincidence that Blue Bay Harbor is home to the Wind Ninja Academy. We are the guardians of an invisible gateway; a gateway that once open will allow all evil of ages gone by to escape"

"Then why hasn't Lothor tried to open it before now?" Shane questioned

"The Abyss can only be opened when it is filled to capacity, even then it can only be opened by a mighty force"

"The Samurai Amulet" Tori concluded

"Yes, I believe Lothor intends to use Cam's powers to open the Abyss and allow the army of evil to enter our world"

The rangers spread themselves out around the destroyed Ninja Ops trying to wrap their head around this new found information.

Aria was still in shock that the Abyss was real and took a few minutes to process the information. But soon she theorized that maybe the Abyss was what was calling her. She sat down amidst the rubble and ran a hand through her curly hair. Dustin walked over, sat down beside her, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders

"You ok?" he asked softly

"We have to stop the Abyss from opening" Aria answered, loud enough for everyone to hear her

"She's right" Shane agreed "There has to be a way"

"We need help" Blake added "Ninja help"

"Where are we gonna find that?"

"Lothor's ship, every ninja on the planet is up there" Hunter answered

"We can use the Dragon Force Vehicle!" Dustin said, standing up to head over to the other Winds

"Wait" Aria spoke up "My brothers and I should go alone. We've been on Lothor's ship before, we know where everything is"

"The Dragon Force Vehicle is in the Zord Bay, be careful and thank you for your courage" Sensei said

"You can thank us when we come back" Blake reassured

He and Aria sent small smiles to Tori and Dustin respectively before racing to the Zord Bay

"You gonna be okay there Ri?" Hunter asked on their way to Lothor's ship

"The farther away I'm from the Abyss the better, and there isn't any place farther than space" Aria sighed

"Wait what?" Blake asked

"Rescue now, explain later"

Inside Ops the Winds were talking amongst themselves while Sensei was looking through some of the old scrolls to find something.

"You guys ever think if we hadn't been late to class that day, we wouldn't even be Power Rangers" Dustin said

"You were always meant to be rangers" Sensei reassured, pulling out a dark wooden box and motioning the rangers to go to him

"What do you mean?" Shane wondered

Pulling out a single scrap of paper Sensei said "This is the last entry on the Scroll of Destiny"

He handed it to Dustin and the three of them stared at the paper in awe. It was a drawing of three Wind Ninjas which Tori, Dustin, and Shane immediately noticed as themselves. But there was another figure behind them.

It was clearly a girl with long curly hair and appeared to be hovering behind them. She wasn't from the Wind Ninja Academy as she wasn't wearing the uniform, but she was shown in a ninja uniform. She also was drawn to have some aura surrounding her.

"As you can see, you were late precisely to become rangers."

"Wait…is this Ri?" Dustin questioned, pointing to the girl in the entry

Sensei smiled "Yes, Aria is destined to help defeat Lothor"

"You knew all this time?" Shane questioned "Why didn't you show us this sooner? Why didn't you tell us when we met Aria?"

"Would you believe me had you not learned the truth for yourself? I have never doubted the scroll's prophecy and neither should you"

"So what happens next?"

 **-Lothor's Ship-**

Aria and her brothers snuck onto the ship, the last time they were on here they ended up getting brainwashed; she had no intent on this turning into another one of those situations.

They inched their way down a hallway when a distracted Choobo raced past them, "Come on! We gotta go before the ship self-destructs! Let's get outta here!"

As soon as Choobo left the Bradleys relaxed a little "Great, a ticking clock on top of everything else" Aria sighed

"We better find Cam" Hunter reminded

With a nod from the younger two the three turned the corner in search of Cam.

First they headed to the 'throne room' of Lothor's Ship. Yeah they knew where everything in this place was, but they obviously didn't know Cam was held.

Reaching Lothor's 'throne room', much to their luck, they found Cam tied to a column in the middle of the room.

"Cam!" they all cried

"Hey guys" he greeted nonchalantly

Untying him Marah and Kapri, who were apparently left behind, were tied up as well and begging to be rescued

"Hey! You can't just leave us here!" Marah whined

"Yeah we can; later sucka" Aria said already turning around to leave

"No Aria, they're family" Cam sighed

Aria groaned and moved to untie Marah while Hunter dealt with Kapri

Suddenly the ship started rocking; they had run out of time. Being the brains of the team Cam and Aria rushed to the former evil ninjas.

"Can you tell us how to release the student Ninja pods?" Cam demanded

Marah ignored his question and spewed this at him "Hey cousin? About the yellow ranger, I was just wondering is he still mad at me? Cause I think he's really cute and-"

Aria, annoyed with her attitude and still bitter about what she did to Dustin, sent a jolt of electricity up her arm "Talk about _my_ boyfriend later huh?"

Somehow Choobo and a group of Kelzaks had appeared behind them. "Going somewhere? I see you have some new friends, this should be fun"

"For old times' sake?" Hunter smirked

"Fuck yeah" Aria said, copying her brother's smirk

"THUNDER STORM! RANGER FORM!"

The three leapt into action taking down Kelzaks left and right. Cam fought as many as he could as well. Marah and Kapri were huddled in the corner, away from battle. Eventually Cam was pulled over by Marah presumably to tell him how to free the students. Aria and her brothers kept fighting. Eventually she grew tired of using her Thunder Staff and drew her Black Daggers.

"Thunders!" Cam yelled, gaining their attention "You gotta blow the console!"

"On it!" Aria confirmed

The three of them formed the Thunder Blaster and fired at the console before them.

In a room not too far from them all the Ninja Students were released.

Choobo soon followed, disappearing with the Kelzaks as the ship started to smoke, spark, and fall apart.

"RUN!"

"Teleporting now!"

They barely escaped the crumbling ship as a piece of the ship fell on the spot they were standing only a second before.

 **-U.S. Action Games-**

The Winds had just lost their megazord in battle against Lothor when they landed in the now abandoned Action Games. Peering over a metal barrier they found the Abyss of Evil cracking open and unleashing all their old enemies.

"They're back" Shane spat

Within seconds every alien, general, monster they have ever faced stood in a line before the Winds. They were scared shitless but they placed a stoic mask to hide their true feelings

"How does it feel to fail rangers?" Lothor mocked

"You should know" Shane fired back

"Not this time, Ready?"

With a nod from Tori and Dustin, the three of them prepared for the fight of their lives. They charged forward but were soon over-powered by the plethora of aliens surrounding them.

The surrounding aliens slowly advanced to the rangers but were blasted back by Hunter flying in on his Glider Bike.

"You missed me?" he taunted

"You will never stop me!" Lothor declared

"But we will!" Blake yelled from the entrance

"Mind if we play?" Aria grinned

She and her brother stood side by side, both Wind and Thunder Ninja students standing behind them.

Hunter jumped off his bike and landed behind the Winds. Shane called on his Battleizer and the six rangers, along with the students, went into battle.

The battle was intense, blasts were fired, explosions were everywhere, and the ringing of metal hitting metal was constant.

With a surge of adrenaline the ninjas and rangers were able to slowly but surely force their enemies back in the Abyss. Aria tried to stay away from the Abyss, but the pull was back again. She tried to ignore, to just push through with the battle but it was still there and growing stronger by the minute.

Aria summoned her Black Daggers, throwing them at either side of a group of Kelzaks and aliens and electrocuted them. Calling her Thunder Whip she lashed at them and sent them over the edge. Doing so however she was left distracted and was pushed closer to the open Abyss

Because of the close range Aria felt the pull stronger than before and she could hear the voices in her head. She collapsed and put her helmet covered head in her hands. She didn't even realize that her friends were fighting Lothor.

Soon the voices got louder, the pull was stronger and Aria couldn't take it anymore. Shakily she stood up to try and get away from the Abyss, she was certain that the power from her ranger suit was the only thing keeping her grounded right now.

Looking up she found her friends by some of the ramps; she watched helplessly as they were all thrown to the ground.

"NOOOO!" she screamed, stumbling towards them. Using whatever strength she had she fired black lightning at the masked ninja's back.

She collapsed on her knees and stared up at Lothor.

He revealed Cam's Samurai amulet and raised it above his head, "It's time to finish you all!"

Lothor faced Blake and Hunter first "Give me those ranger powers!"

The boys tried to fight it but it proved to be too much for them, seconds later Blake and Hunter fell to their knees de-morphed

"BLAKE! HUNTER!" Aria cried as she tried to crawl her way over to her brothers

"Nothing can stop me now that I have the amulet!" Lothor declared

At those words Cam appeared before his uncle and ready for a fight. "I believe that belongs to me"

He simply laughed and launched Cam a good ten feet away. As he raised the amulet the Winds rushed to Cam's aid, standing in front of him and blocking Lothor from Cam

"He's not going anywhere! Got it?" Shane growled

"Fine, I'll take you in his place!"

Lothor repeated the process and took the Winds' powers for his own.

"NOOO!" Aria cried as she watched her friends get tossed aside.

Lothor's sharply turned to face Aria. Shakily she stood up, Thunder Staff in hand, and tried to attack. She was easily blocked and tossed aside

"Oh I didn't forget about you" Lothor laughed

Aria tried to stand up again but the pull from the Abyss, the voices in her head, and the exhaustion from battle took a toll on her. She watched helplessly as Lothor raised the amulet and drained the power from her.

With a shriek Aria collapsed to her hands and knees, she could already feel the darkness taking over. Her eyes were already pitch black and she felt as though she were slipping away from reality.

She heard a familiar voice yell out her name "ARIA!" Snapping her head to find the voice her eyes locked onto Dustin's. Glancing over to her right she found Blake and Hunter who were watching with concern etched all over their faces. Looking around she locked eyes with all six other rangers; it was if time had slowed down as memories flooded her clouded mind.

From growing up with her brothers, to meeting Cam and the Winds, her and Tori's friendship, her band, Dustin, everything that happened this past year flooded her mind. She remembered how when she and Tori were caught by Ratwell she was actually able to control herself. Taking a deep breath she put all of her focus on those memories to try and stay grounded

The cry of her friends pulled her back to reality; Lothor had blasted them to the ground. She easily stood up and walked to stand by her team

"Ri? Is that you?" Tori asked

With her distorted voice and black eyes she stared back at her "Yeah T, it's me, but we should probably hurry up, I might lose it"

"Don't need to tell me twice" Shane said as he charged

Cam went after him, followed by Dustin, Hunter, Blake, and then Tori. All of them were thrown aside

Aria flew up and blasted him multiple times in the chest before landing gracefully and landing a kick to the face. Lothor dropped and swept her legs from underneath her.

This routine followed, some hits landed on Lothor but he would just hit back. Aria's self-control slipped a couple of times in the fight but she managed.

Finally Shane, Tori, and Dustin all charged at Lothor at the same time. But were each thrown off him, when she found an opening Aria stood up and fired a blast at Lothor's chest. Eventually Lothor threw the Winds to the ground, Aria rushed to her friend's sides and the four stared up at Lothor.

Lothor flipped back and landed only a few feet away from the Abyss while the four rangers stood up.

"I have your ranger powers you are at my mercy once and for all"

"We won't let you win" Shane growled

"What can you do to me without your powers?"

His words seemed to have triggered something in Aria. She hovered in the air behind the Winds and a black aura appeared to take shape.

"We may not be rangers, but we still have power!" Aria said in her distorted voice

"Power of Air!"

"Power of Earth!"

"Power of Water!"

"Ninja Powers!"

The wind around Lothor picked up as the Winds blasted their Ninja Powers at Lothor.

The aura surrounding Aria took shape of a hooded skeleton. Circling her arms she fired a stream of energy at Lothor. The ring on her necklace glowed like when she was facing Eyezak and the hooded skeleton surrounding her grew a pair of red fiery wings. The added power of Aria and her dark powers and the Winds elemental powers pushed Lothor over the edge of the Abyss.

When he was thrown over the Winds dropped their arms but Aria kept going, pouring more power into the Abyss.

Eventually the Abyss imploded and sealed itself; Aria dropped her hands and the figure behind her disappeared. She slowly descended and fell to the ground.

 **-Unknown-**

In a dark room and large book resting on a high pedestal burst open, revealing strange, foreign writing. A figure appeared in a black hooded cloak before the book and stared at the page.

"The prophecy has come to play, they must be found…before it's too late"

 **-Unknown-**

Nick Russell sat straight up in his bed, sweating and panting. Running a hand over his face he thought back at the dream he just had. She saw a glowing white figure that seemed to be a girl, and a fiery red phoenix.

He had no clue what that was all about, 'Probably something I ate or some shit' he thought before going back to sleep

 **-U.S. Action Games-**

Dustin turned around to the fallen ninja, knelt down, and held her in his arms "Ri, you okay?"

He stared into her eyes and watched in awe as her eyes went from black to their beautiful grey-green

"Yeah," she smiled "I'm okay"

Dustin laughed and helped her up

"What happened to Lothor?" Tori asked

"My powers," Aria explained "It caused the Abyss to implode. That's what was causing me to freak out earlier. Lothor's evil just helped"

"So he's gone?" Dustin asked "Really gone"

"I believe so" Cam clarified

Looking at his morpher Hunter asked "And our ranger powers?"

"They're gone too…" Shane sighed sadly

 **-Later-**

A few hours later the U.S Action Games were back on. Aria caught up with her band and came up with some random excuse as to why she couldn't be found anywhere. Desi didn't think twice about it but Nanami and Lila were still unconvinced, after all Hunter and Cam were nowhere to be found either.

Aria gave vague answers to their questions as they set up their stuff again. Aria took a break to watch Dustin and Shane in their events before returning to the other girls. It was only a matter of time before they went on

They stood on stage and waited for the announcer to come on, "Okay ladies and gentlemen we will be presenting awards after this performance put on by Totally Talented's runner up, BLACK MAGIC!"

The crowd erupted in cheers and Aria spotted her friends in the front row.

"HEY EVERYONE! We are Black Magic and this is something we've been working on for a while, we hope you like it!"

Aria nodded her head at the girls signaling them to start

(A/N: _Aria,_ **Lila,** Nanami, **Desi,** ** _the rest_** )

 _One day the world will be gone  
There'll be no one here to walk the land  
One day what you know will be wrong  
There'll be no one here to hold your hand_

 **Right now we're crazy youngsters  
Time is running out, but who cares we're running free  
They call us crazy youngsters  
We don't apologize, we're mad and running free** __

 _They call us crazy youngsters  
Time is running out but who cares we're running free  
Hell yeah, we're crazy youngsters  
We don't apologize, we're mad and running free_

 _(_ _ **Cause we got**_ _) Hey, we got a lot of things to do (_ _ **Hey**_ _)  
Hey, we got a lot of things to prove  
(_ _ **Yeah we got**_ _) Yeah we got a lot of room to grow  
(_ _ **Hey**_ _) Yeah we got a lot of miles to go  
So we keep driving, we keep driving_

One day when the story's all told  
There'll be no more words to fill the page  
One night when the stars are all gone  
There'll be no more light to guide the way __

 **Right now we're crazy youngsters  
Time is running out, but who cares we're running free  
They call us crazy youngsters  
We don't apologize, we're mad and running free**

 **They call us crazy youngsters  
Time is running out but who cares we're running free  
Hell yeah, we're crazy youngsters  
We don't apologize, we're mad and running free** __

 _(_ _ **Cause we got**_ _) Hey, we got a lot of things to do (_ _ **Hey**_ _)  
Hey, we got a lot of things to prove  
(_ _ **Yeah we got**_ _) Yeah we got a lot of room to grow (_ _ **Oh grow**_ _)  
(_ _ **Hey**_ _) Yeah we got a lot of miles to go  
So we keep driving, we keep driving_

 _(_ _ **Oh**_ _) We keep driving, we keep driving (driving, driving, hey)_

 _And don't blink till its over (_ _ **over**_ _)  
The fun has just begun  
Let's finish the race  
While our hearts are young_

 _(_ _ **Cause we're**_ _) Cause we're crazy youngsters  
Time is running out but who cares we're running free  
Hell yeah we're crazy youngsters (_ _ **crazy youngsters**_ _)  
We don't apologize, we're mad and running free_

 _(_ _ **Cause we got**_ _) Hey, we got a lot of things to do (_ _ **Hey**_ _)  
Hey we got a lot of things to prove  
(_ _ **Yeah we got**_ _) Hey, we got a lot of room to grow  
(_ _ **Hey**_ _) Yeah we got a lot of miles to go  
So we keep driving, oh ooh oh_

 _Hell yeah we're crazy youngsters  
We keep driving, driving, driving, driving_

The crowd erupted in applause and Aria couldn't help but beam at her friends surrounding her, when the cheering died down the band played _Domino_ and _Just Like Fire_.

After their performance the band exited the stage and greeted the ninjas exchanging congratulations and praises. Soon the announcer returned to the stage and proceeded with prizes.

 **-Later-**

The entire group of people surrounded Dustin congratulating him for his third place trophy in Freestyle. Nami, Lila, and Desi have all left soon after their performance saying that with the concert and todays…event…took a lot out of them.

"My boy came through!" Blake smiled patting Dustin on the shoulder

"I'm so glad you changed to Freestyle you got a real career ahead of you" Kelly praised

Aria wrapped her arms around his waist and Dustin wrapped an arm around her.

"You guys!" Shane called as he ran over "You won't believe this! Ya know the guys from Truth Trucks? They wanna sponsor me! National tour and everything!"

They erupted in cheers and praised Shane for this accomplishment.

"So what did you tell them?" Aria asked, bouncing in excitement

Shane just mouthed 'no' and shook his head

 **-A Few Weeks Later-**

 **-Wind Ninja Academy-**

Today was the day, the day Aria had been waiting for since she started training at the Thunder Academy, she was graduating today. She waited patiently in line for her name to be called

"Shane Clark" Sensei called, the re- former red ranger walked up the stage, bowed and received his diploma before standing off to the side. He was followed by Tori then Dustin before her name was called.

"Aria Bradley"

She beamed as she walked up to Sensei, from the corner of her eye she saw Sensei Omino with a small smile on his face, and she also noticed both Leanne and Liam standing by him.

Soon her brothers and Cam were called up after her.

"You have all earned a badge of honor that is to graduate from the Wind Ninja Academy, I could not be more proud of you; of the sacrifices you have made for your school and in your planet. The world is a better place today because of you!"

All seven rangers leapt in the air in excitement and hugged one another. This chapter of their lives was over, but they would always have each other.

Aria and Dustin walked together hand in hand, everything this past year was crazy, she became a ranger, she became evil (twice), she fell in love, and she kicked some major ass. It was awesome

"Ari!" she heard someone call

Turning around she found Liam running towards her

"What Liam?"

"Look, um, I'm sorry ok"

"Huh?" had she heard him correctly

"I'm sorry ok, I- I shouldn't have called you a monster, you saved my father and the world, I-"

"It's cool Liam, ok, we're good" she smiled

"Oh-uh, ok then…" he stuttered; he didn't expect to be forgiven so easily "I'll uh, see you then…"

When he left Aria and Dustin laughed at the awkward conversation that just took place before meeting with the others.

"You guys ready to do this?" Shane asked

They shared a grin as they continued to walk through the Wind Academy.

 **-Later-**

Aria, Blake, and Hunter stood by as Cam and Sensei welcomed new students. She internally groaned when Marah and Kapri walked through. She watched as more new students walked into the Academy but three in particular caught her eye.

"Dude…" she nudged Hunter

The last three students were the three kids that tried to fight off Kelzaks at the Action Games.

"I don't think I have it in me to go through this again" Cam groaned

"Then perhaps we should leave their training to the three new teachers" Sensei smiled motioning to Shane, Tori, and Dustin walking up in their new Sensei robes. "A happy ending is nothing more than a new beginning; besides, one should never break up a winning team"

Aria ran over to Dustin and they wrapped their arms around each other. All seven ex-rangers were laughing a joking when Aria came to a realization, Blake was going pro, Hunter was now head Sensei, and Cam and the Winds were all Senseis. She didn't have any plans…what's next for her?

(A/N: Dont worry, I'm writing an epilogue but yeah, thats that. hope ya like it. REVIEWS and FOLLOWS appreciated. let me know what you think!)


	35. Epilogue

_(Disclaimer: PRNS isnt mine, Aria is...duh)_

 **Epilogue**

 **-Wind Ninja Academy-**

Aria sat on the now empty stage, not really knowing what to do; all of her friends had gone off celebrating and what not while she broke away and headed back to the stage.

She had no idea what she was going to do, of course she still had Black Magic but the girls had their own lives. While her thoughts ran wild Sensei Omino appeared. Seeing her old teacher Aria shot up, "Sensei Omino!" she exclaimed, bowing deeply.

"Aria Bradley" Sensei Omino greeted with a hint of a smile, a rarity for the stern man "I thought you would be celebrating with your brothers"

"Oh, um…I just wanted to do some thinking"

Clasping his hands behind his back "About what?"

Hesitating slightly, "Everything," she sighed "I don't know where to go from here…"

"Perhaps I could help"

This took Aria by surprise; she thought Sensei Omino didn't like her with the whole Liam situation. "Wha-"

"I must apologize for my…reaction…two years ago. But you must know, I have always seen you and your brothers as though you were my own children"

Aria looked down at the ground unsure of what to say

Sensei Omino continued "Come, there is something we must discuss"

Not questioning her Sensei she followed behind him into the woods surrounding the academy.

 **-Woods-**

Aria followed Sensei Omino to a secluded part of the woods where, to her surprise, Sensei was waiting.

"Ah, good to see you old friend" Sensei greeted

Sensei Omino's small smile returned, "Likewise Kanoi"

Aria spoke up "Um, not to be rude, but what's going on?"

The two teacher's looked her way before stealing a knowing glance at each other

Sensei took a breath "Aria, do you believe in magic?"

Aria was taken aback, of course she did. Every ninja had the smallest control over magic; it's how they controlled their elements. "Of course…"

"Aria, there is something we must tell you" Sensei Omino said

"What is it Sensei?" Aria was getting a bit nervous now

Sensei Omino turned around to face Sensei "After your powers were discovered by my son Liam, and we agreed that they weren't Dark Ninja Powers, I went to Sensei Watanabe"

She was getting confused now "Why?"

Sensei spoke up this time "Have you heard of the Scroll of Destiny?"

"I mean I've read about it"

"You were on the final entry" Sensei Omino admitted "I thought perhaps it may have mentioned anything about these powers you have"

"They didn't," Sensei sighed "However, soon after you and your brothers joined us, someone had come and told me of a prophecy"

"Who?" Aria asked

As if on cue a woman stepped out of a tree beside Sensei. She was around the same age as the Senseis with long wavy red hair braided in a complex crown on her head and bright green eyes. She was wearing a large black cloak over a beautiful white blouse and pants. The woman smiled and stepped forward

"I am the sorceress Udonna"

"Sorceress?" Aria was beyond confused now, if that was even possible, what does any of this have to do with her?"

"Please allow me to explain, I am sure you must be confused"

Aria simply nodded, wanting to know what was happening

"I come from a magical realm filled with various creatures and monsters. I am also what is called a Mystic, what you know as a witch" she paused to let this information sink in "Many years ago there was a Great Battle between good and evil"

'Isn't there always' Aria thought

"There was a prophecy made after the battle was…won"

Aria caught the hesitation in her voice but decided to leave it alone

"It said that the evil will return and the Child of Darkness will be born and either help defeat it, or they will extinguish all good magic in the world"

Aria didn't know what to say, was this Udonna telling her that she was the 'Child of Darkness'?

Apparently Udonna wasn't done because she continued "I know it is a lot to hear, so come with me"

"Wait what?"

"I can teach you to control your magic, teach you the history of the magical realm, show you so many things" Udonna smiled

Aria didn't know what to say, this was all too much. "Wait, are you saying that _I'm_ the Child of Darkness and I'm a part of this crazy prophecy"

"That is correct" Udonna said "Like I said I can help explain everything if you come with me"

"I'm still trying to figure out the whole 'Witches are Real' thing"

Udonna laughed lightly "Yes, it is a lot of information"

"I think it would be best if you went with her Aria" Sensei Omino said; she had completely forgotten they were there. "This is what you were meant to do"

Aria looked between the three adults around her, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was meant for her; this was her next step.

"Where would we go?" Aria sighed

"To the forest just outside of Briarwood"

"Briarwood?!" Aria exclaimed, she had heard of that place. It was a tiny town a bit north from Blue Bay and Reefside "But that's two cities over!"

Sensei stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, "It is what's best for you"

Sighing again, "Will my friends be able to visit? Can I go back home during all this?"

Udonna's smile fell as she said "it is not that simple, though your friends know something about magic, the magical realm must remain hidden. Perhaps one day they will know but for now, it would be best if they didn't know."

"I know this will be hard, but I know you are more than capable enough to do this" Sensei reassured

Sensei Omino nodded his head at the young girl in agreement to Sensei.

She sighed again before making her decision "Ok, I'll go with you. But please give me a few days before I leave"

Udonna offered a sad smile "Of course, I will return at the end of the week. I know this is a hard decision Aria, but I promise that this is the right one"

Aria returned the smile before Udonna turned to the two men, bowed slightly and stepped through a tree, disappearing in a flash of light.

"I'm very proud of you Aria" Sensei Omino praised "Now I'm sure your brothers are wondering where you went"

Aria smiled and thanked her Senseis before bowing deeply and walked out of the woods.

 **-Wind Ninja Academy-**

Walking through the entrance to the Academy she spotted all of friends sparring each other and she couldn't help but chuckle at the sight 'Things never change' she thought.

"RI!" Dustin called

Aria smiled and walked over

"Hey where you been dude?" Blake asked

"Yeah, you just disappeared" Hunter added

She looked down at the ground before looking up at her friends, scratch that, her family

"Um, Sensei Omino needed to speak to me"

"Are you gonna be teaching?" Tori asked

"Uh, no…I'm not."

"Then what's up?" Shane questioned

"Um, I'll tell you guys later. Let's celebrate yeah? How about the beach later tonight? Bonfire?"

The cheers of excitement were all she needed as an agreement. They went their separate ways to prepare for their celebration tonight.

At least that was what the other ninjas were doing. Aria went up to her small room and started cleaning up her room, packing a few things in her black duffel bag.

 **-Later that Night-**

 **-Beach-**

The sun was setting as Aria walked down the beach in black capris and a purple sweatshirt with guitar case in hand. Spotting her group of friends by a growing bonfire she picked up the pace and headed over.

They spent the first couple of hours reminiscing about their time together. They ate, drank, and talked; this was probably their first 'normal' night in a while.

"Guys, I got something to show you" Aria said as she pulled her guitar out

Everyone turned their attention to the former black ranger and waited for her to play

 _We could just go home right now  
Or maybe we could stick around  
For just one more drink, oh yeah  
Get another bottle out  
Lets shoot the breeze  
Sit back down  
For just one more drink, oh yeah_

 _Here's to us  
Here's to love  
All the times  
That we messed up  
Here's to you  
Fill the glass  
Cause the last few days  
Have gone to fast  
So lets give em hell  
Wish everybody well  
Here's to us  
Here's to us_

 _Stuck it out this far together  
Put our dreams through the shredder  
Let's toast cause things got better  
and everything could change like that  
And all these years go by so fast  
But nothing lasts forever_

 _Here's to us  
Here's to love  
All the times  
That we messed up  
Here's to you  
Fill the glass  
Cause the last few nights  
Have kicked my ass  
If they give you hell  
Tell em to go fuck themselves  
Here's to us  
Here's to us_

 _Here's to all that we kissed  
And to all that we missed  
To the biggest mistakes  
That we just wouldn't trade  
To us breaking up  
Without us breaking down  
To whatever's come our way_

 _Here's to us  
Here's to love  
All the times  
That we messed up  
Here's to you  
Fill the glass  
Cause the last few days  
Have gone to fast  
So let's give em hell  
Wish everybody well_

 _Here's to us  
Here's to love  
All the times  
That we messed up  
Here's to you  
Fill the glass  
Cause the last few nights  
Have kicked my ass  
If they give you hell  
Tell em to go fuck themselves_

 _Here's to us_

When Aria finished the song she had tears forming in her eyes, looking around she noticed Tori was the same, as well as Dustin sitting next to her.

It was as though realization just hit them, their time as rangers was over and they were moving on.

Sighing and blinking away tears Aria began "I gotta tell you guys something"

"What's up Aria?" Cam said

"So, like I said earlier, I was talking to Sensei Omino"

"Oh yeah what did he say?" Hunter wondered

"Um, we were talking about my powers. We think it's best if I went to try and uh, figure out what all of it means" she lied "Like a mission to find myself you know?"

"Well when do you leave?" Blake questioned

"In four days" Tears started forming again

Everyone was quiet for what felt like forever when Dustin asked "How long will you be gone?"

The tears she was trying to hold back fell down on her cheeks "I don't know…"

The seven ninjas sat there for the rest of the night enjoying each other's' company, the only sound was the crackling of the fire.

 **-The Next Few Days-**

The rest of the week Aria finished packing the stuff she needed and spent as much as she could with her family. She told her band mates that she was moving away to help take care of her long lost aunt (she was surprised that they actually believed her), she spent hours in front of her parents' grave to say goodbye, and even more time with her brothers and Dustin.

Eventually the day came that she had to leave. The ninjas all stood by the waterfall that led to the Wind Academy to say their final goodbyes. Aria tried to keep her tears from falling, but failed

First she went to Cam "Take care Cam relax once in a while yeah?" she joked weakly

Cam gave her a sad smile before pulling her into a hug "I'm gonna miss you too, here," he handed her a small communicator attached to a long chain "in case of emergencies"

Aria smiled at her fellow tech nerd

Shane was next "Go easy on those kids, you'll be a great teacher Shane"

"Good luck out there Ri" he said giving the girl a side hug

Tori followed "Aw T don't cry" she lightly scolded the blonde surfer "Come here" the two girls hugged

"Come back soon"

Blake stepped up after "Be careful out there bro, don't do anything I wouldn't do"

"Like win?" he joked

Aria let out a sob at her brother before hugging him tightly

"What about me?" Hunter asked quietly

Aria hugged him just as tightly

Finally it was Dustin's turn

They stared at each other's eyes before Dustin pulled out a long, sleek black box.

"Here"

She took the box from his hands and opened it. If tears weren't flowing before they definitely were now. It was a simple gold chain much like the silver one she wore now but instead of a ring hanging from it there was a small gold angel.

Thinking back to her song "Halo" she let out another sob. "Thank you"

She easily clipped the necklace on; but to everyone's surprise she took off her silver necklace and gave it to Dustin

"Aria what are y-"

"I don't know how long I'll be, so here's a piece of me so that I'll always be here"

"I love you" he choked

"I love you"

Dustin had stray tears fall down his face; Aria wiped them away and placed a kiss on his lips before engulfing him in a hug. That hug turned into a group hug as all six ninjas surrounded Aria.

However all good things must come to an end and they broke apart. Grabbing Dustin's hand one last time they all watched sadly as their youngest team member walked off into the woods with her duffel bag slung on her shoulder

Deep in the woods she found Udonna waiting, "It's time to go" she said gently, holding her hand out for Aria

She sighed deeply and grabbed the older woman's hand, the other clutching her new gold necklace.

They stepped into one of the trees and within seconds she was transported to an unfamiliar forest

 **-Unknown-**

Aria stepped forward in awe; she was standing in front of a giant tree root in the shape of a dragon's head. Udonna walked to the 'snout' and it magically opened for her. She turned to Aria "Welcome to Rootcore"

Aria walked in and looked around; there was a crystal ball in the middle of a large wooden table and shelves carrying various old books and strange things not from the 'normal' world. On a tall pedestal was a large locked book with a strange language written all over the cover

"Your training begins now" Udonna announced with a flourish of her hand she transformed Aria's normal clothes to a new training uniform.

This the next chapter in her life

(A/N: THAT'S IT! IT'S DONE! BOOK ONE OF MY DARKNESS SERIES IS COMPLETE! i hope you guys liked it, next week her new story begins! Please REVIEW and FOLLOW! XOXO. THANK YOU TO ALL MY LOYAL READERS 3)


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